Malaysia Stock Market May Take Further Damage On Friday

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Thursday's holiday for Wesak Day, the Malaysia stock market had alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last six trading days since the end of the four-day losing streak in which it had dropped more than a dozen points or 0.9 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,425-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on concerns over the health of the financial system and the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are predicted to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished barely lower on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares and telecoms, while the plantations offered support.

For the day, the index eased 0.12 points or 0.01 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,425.99 after moving as low as 1,415.47.

Among the actives, Axiata spiked 1.33 percent, while CIMB Group sank 0.39 percent, Dialog Group plummeted2.59 percent, Digi.com jumped 0.91 percent, Genting retreated 0.63 percent, IHH Healthcare declined 0.68 percent, INARI added 0.42 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong surged 4.08 percent, Maxis soared 2.03 percent, Maybank collected 0.46 percent, MISC fell 0.14 percent, MRDIY tumbled 1.85 percent, Petronas Chemicals climbed 0.56 percent, PPB Group advanced 0.49 percent, Press Metal plunged 1.93 percent, Public Bank lost 0.26 percent, Sime Darby dropped 0.46 percent, Sime Darby Plantations gained 0.23 percent, Telekom Malaysia rose 0.20 percent, Tenaga Nasional perked 0.11 percent and Genting Malaysia, IOI Corporation, RHB Capital and QL Resources were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower and remained in the red throughout the session.

The Dow tumbled 286.50 points or 0.86 percent to finish at 33,127.74, while the NASDAQ dropped 58.93 points or 0.49 percent to close at 11,966.40 and the S&P 500 sank 29.53 points or 0.72 percent to end at 4,061.22.

The continued weakness on Wall Street partly reflects ongoing concerns about turmoil among regional banks after lenders PacWest Bancorp (PACW) and First Horizon (FHN) said they were reviewing their options.

Continued uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates also weighed following the Federal Reserve's tenth straight rate hike on Wednesday. While the Fed's accompanying statement seemed to suggest the central bank plans to pause its rate hiking cycle, Fed Chair Jerome Powell clouded the outlook with a "data-dependent approach" to future monetary policy decisions.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose slightly more than expected last week. Also, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit shrank to $64.2 billion in March from a revised $70.6 billion in February.

Crude oil futures pared early losses and settled just slightly lower on Thursday, due largely to some short-covering and speculative buying. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended down $0.04 at $68.56 a barrel, recovering well from a low of $63.57 a barrel.