Malaysia Stock Market May Extend Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, slumping more than 15 points or 1 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,455-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are expected to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished barely lower on Friday following mixed performances from the financial shares, industrials and plantations.

For the day, the index eased 0.85 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 1,456.80 after trading between 1,448.09 and 1,460.19.

Among the actives, Axiata and Petronas Dagangan both spiked 1.27 percent, while Dialog Group jumped 0.88 percent, Digi.com soared 1.87 percent, Genting fell 0.21 percent, Genting Malaysia slumped 1.09 percent, IHH Healthcare gained 0.51 percent, INARI climbed 0.82 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong retreated 1.21 percent, Maybank collected 0.58 percent, Maxis skidded 0.75 percent, MISC improved 0.27 percent, MRDIY declined 1.19 percent, Petronas Chemicals plummeted 7.69 percent, PPB Group perked 0.11 percent, Press Metal tumbled 1.33 percent, Public Bank increased 0.24 percent, RHB Capital gathered 0.18 percent, Sime Darby rose 0.44 percent, Sime Darby Plantations added 0.70 percent, Telekom Malaysia surged 2.22 percent, Tenaga Nasional advanced 0.73 percent and CIMB Group and IOI Corporation were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is solidly negative as the major averages opened lower on Friday and stayed in the red throughout the session, finishing near daily lows.

The Dow tumbled 336.98 points or 1.02 percent to finish at 32,816.92, while the NASDAQ slumped 195.46 points or 1.69 percent to close at 11,394.94 and the S&P 500 sank 42.28 points or 1.05 percent to end at 3,970.04.

For the holiday-shortened week, the S&P dove 2.7 percent, while the Dow plunged 3.0 percent and the NASDAQ plummeted 3.3 percent.

The early sell-off on Wall Street came after the Commerce Department reported an unexpected acceleration in the annual rate of growth by core consumer prices in January.

The unexpected spike in core consumer prices added to recent concerns about the outlook for interest rates as the Federal Reserve may be inclined to leave interest rates higher for longer.

After coming under pressure early in the session, the price of crude oil showed a big turnaround over the course of the trading day on Friday. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery jumped $0.93 or 1.2 percent to $76.32 after falling as low as $74.09 a barrel in early trading.