Losing Streak May Continue For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in five straight sessions, giving up almost 40 points or 2.8 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just shy of the 1,545-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on concerns over rising bond yields. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets also figure to open under pressure.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, plantations, telecoms and industrials.

For the day, the index dipped 4.07 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 1,544.80 after trading between 1,542.47 and 1,553.84.

Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail added 0.47 percent, while Axiata lost 0.48 percent, Celcomdigi advanced 0.52 percent, CIMB Group shed 0.57 percent, Gamuda rallied 1.33 percent, IHH Healthcare was up 0.14 percent, IOI Corporation jumped 1.38 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong sank 0.71 percent, Maxis surged 3.65 percent, Maybank fell 0.40 percent, MRDIY strengthened 1.29 percent, Nestle Malaysia dropped 0.75 percent, Petronas Chemicals plummeted 8.06 percent, PPB Group improved 0.51 percent, Press Metal spiked 1.81 percent, Public Bank tumbled 1.99 percent, QL Resources rose 0.22 percent, SD Guthrie accelerated 1.30 percent, Sunway soared 2.09 percent, Telekom Malaysia perked 0.15 percent, Tenaga Nasional slid 0.28 percent, YTL Corporation plunged 2.86 percent, YTL Power gained 0.28 percent and RHB Bank, Sime Darby, MISC and Hong Leong Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is bleak as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and only got worse as the day progressed, ending near session lows.

The Dow tumbled 816.80 points or 1.91 percent to finish at 41,860.44, while the NASDAQ dropped 270.07 points or 1.41 percent to close at 18,872.64 and the S&P 500 sank 95.85 points or 1.61 percent to end at 5,844.61.

The weakness on Wall Street was the result of a continued increase by bond yields, with the 30-year bond yield climbing above 5 percent due to concerns a new U.S. tax bill could worsen the country's deficit.

President Donald Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill is one step closer to a full vote in the House of Representatives, with economists warning the proposal would add more than $2.5 trillion to the federal debt over the next decade.

Treasury yields saw further upside after the Treasury Department revealed this month's auction of $16 billion worth of 20-year bonds attracted below average demand.

Crude oil futures fell under pressure Wednesday after a report released by the Energy Information Administration showed U.S. crude oil inventories unexpectedly increased last week. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery slid $0.46 to 0.7 percent to $61.57 a barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will release April figures for consumer prices later today; in March, overall inflation was flat on month and up 1.4 percent on year.