Losing Streak May Continue For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, slipping almost 20 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,450-point plateau and it may take further damage on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with technology, semiconductor and oil stocks expected to weigh. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following losses from the glove makers, while the plantations, telecoms and financials came in mixed.

For the day, the index eased 2.16 points or 0.15 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,448.38 after moving as low as 1,440.59. Volume was 2.319 billion shares worth 1.712 billion ringgit. There were 493 decliners and 351 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata fell 0.35 percent, while CIMB Group slumped 1.11 percent, Dialog Group spiked 2.46 percent, Digi.com advanced 1.05 percent, Genting rose 0.22 percent, Genting Malaysia dropped 0.74 percent, Hartalega Holdings plummeted 2.50 percent, IHH Healthcare eased 0.17 percent, INARI strengthened 1.95 percent, IOI Corporation dipped 0.25 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gained 0.28 percent, Maybank and Petronas Gas were up 0.12 percent, Maxis climbed 1.87 percent, MISC sank 0.70 percent, MRDIY rallied 1.98 percent, Press Metal added 0.42 percent, Public Bank tumbled 1.60 percent, RHB Capital lost 0.36 percent, Sime Darby retreated 1.35 percent, Sime Darby Plantations declined 1.57 percent, Telekom Malaysia shed 0.37 percent, Tenaga Nasional jumped 2.17 percent, Top Glove skidded 1.03 percent and Petronas Chemicals, PPB Group and Nestle were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday. The NASDAQ and the S&P 500 stayed in the red all day, while the Dow bounced back and forth across the unchanged line but also finished lower.

The Dow eased 39.09 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 33,553.83, while the NASDAQ tumbled 174.75 points or 1.54 percent to close at 11,183.66 and the S&P 500 sank 32.94 points or 0.83 percent to end at 3,958.79.

The weakness on Wall Street came as treasuries moved sharply higher, extending the upward move in the previous session and affecting technology stocks in particular.

In economic news, the Commerce Department reported a significant increase in U.S. retail sales in October. Also, the Federal Reserve noted an unexpected decline in U.S. industrial production last month. In addition, the National Association of Home Builders reported a continued decrease in U.S. homebuilder confidence in November.

Crude oil prices slipped Wednesday amid concerns about the outlook for demand and the resumption of Russian oil shipments to Hungary. Oil prices fell despite data showing a larger-than-expected drop in crude inventories in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended lower by $1.33 or 1.5 percent at $85.59 a barrel.