Malaysia Bourse May Give Up Support At 1,500 Points

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had picked up more than 30 points or 2 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,520-point plateau and it may take further damage again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative after U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff announcement. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the industrials and mixed performances from the financial shares, telecoms and plantations.

For the day, the index fell 7.61 points or 0.50 percent to finish at 1,517.91 after trading between 1,512.32 and 1,524.41. Among the actives, Axiata rallied 2.21 percent, while Celcomdigi skidded 1.10 percent, CIMB Group eased 0.14 percent, Gamuda added 0.47 percent, IHH Healthcare retreated 2.03 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong perked 0.20 percent, Maxis sank 0.29 percent, Maybank dropped 0.58 percent, MISC spiked 2.38 percent, MRDIY jumped 1.38 percent, Nestle Malaysia plunge 3.52 percent, Petronas Chemicals stumbled 2.52 percent, PPB Group was up 0.17 percent, Press Metal tanked 3.18 percent, Public Bank collected 0.23 percent, QL Resources rose 0.21 percent, Sime Darby plummeted 4.17 percent, SD Guthrie fell 0.20 percent, Sunway slumped 1.11 percent, Telekom Malaysia climbed 0.76 percent, Tenaga Nasional declined 1.31 percent, YTL Corporation advanced 0.50 percent, YTL Power tumbled 2.08 percent and 99 Speed Mart Retail, IOI Corporation and RHB Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened sharply lower on Thursday and remained deep in the red throughout the day, ending at session lows.

The Dow plummeted 1,679.39 points or 3.98 percent to finish at 40,545.93, while the NASDAQ crashed 1,050.44 points or 5.97 percent to close at 1,6550.61 and the S&P 500 tumbled 274.45 points or 4.84 percent to end at 5,396.52.

The nosedive on Wall Street came after Trump delivered a highly anticipated speech on Wednesday outlining his plan to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. trade partners.

Canada and the European Union are also preparing countermeasures, leading to concerns about a trade war that could fuel inflation and damage the global economy.

Adding to the negative sentiment, the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. service sector growth slowed by more than anticipated in March.

Crude oil prices pulled back sharply on Thursday after the U.S. implemented its tariffs, while additional selling pressure came after OPEC said it would speed up previously announced increases in output. Crude for May delivery plummeted $4.76 or 6.6 percent to $66.95 a barrel.