Malaysia Bourse May Extend Thursday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Thursday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had added more than 6 points or 0.4 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,450-point plateau and it may be stuck in neutral again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets remains soft on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.

For the day, the index dropped 15.53 points or 1.06 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,447.98 after peaking at 1,460.76.

Among the actives, Axiata tumbled 2.62 percent, while Celcomdigi added 0.45 percent, CIMB Group slumped 1.57 percent, Dialog Group declined 2.26 percent, Genting surrendered 2.41 percent, Genting Malaysia tanked 2.97 percent, IHH Healthcare fell 0.83 percent, IOI Corporation plummeted 3.23 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Petronas Chemicals both lost 0.88 percent, Maxis skidded 1.50 percent, Maybank was down 0.66 percent, MISC retreated 2.11 percent, PPB Group stumbled 1.87 percent, Press Metal dropped 1.42 percent, Public Bank slid 0.72 percent, RHB Capital sank 1.39 percent, Sime Darby shed 0.93 percent, Sime Darby Plantations plunged 3.15 percent, Telekom Malaysia gained 0.20 percent, Tenaga Nasional eased 0.40 percent, Westports Holdings jumped 1.75 percent and MRDIY was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened higher on Thursday but quickly turned lower and finished near session lows.

The Dow tumbled 290.91 points or 0.84 percent to finish at 34,474.83, while the NASDAQ slumped 157.70 points or 1.17 percent to close at 13,316.93 and the S&P 500 sank 33.97 points or 0.77 percent to end at 4,370.36.

The weakness on Wall Street came as investors continue to digest Wednesday's Federal Reserve minutes, which suggest the central bank will hold interest rates higher for longer to fight inflation.

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw a modest decline last week. Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said its manufacturing index saw a big jump in August.

Crude oil futures were up on Thursday, snapping a three-session losing streak on news of stimulus measures from China's central bank. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September climbed $1.01 or 1.3 percent at $80.39 a barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will provide July numbers for imports, exports and trade balance later today, as well as Q2 data for GDP and current account. GDP is tipped to expand 3.3 percent on year, slowing from 5.6 percent in the previous three months; the current account surplus was 4.30 billion ringgit in Q1.

Imports are expected to sink 13.9 percent on year after dropping 18.9 percent in June. Exports are called lower by an annual 8.7 percent after slumping 14.1 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at 21.2 billion ringgit, down from 25.8 billion ringgit a month earlier.