Losing Streak May End For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in five consecutive sessions, slipping more than 25 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,465-point plateau although it may finally halt its slide on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat after days of selling as recession fears may already be priced in. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished barely lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares and mixed performances from the plantations, telecoms and glove makers.

For the day, the index dipped 0.95 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 1,465.93 after trading between 1,461.78 and 1,469.12.

Among the actives, Axiata surged 3.03 percent, CIMB Group slumped 0.88 percent, Dialog Group skidded 0.87 percent, Digi.com soared 2.67 percent, Genting declined 1.15 percent, IHH Healthcare dropped 0.87 percent, INARI rose 0.22 percent, IOI Corporation gained 0.53 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell 0.28 percent, Maybank lost 0.35 percent, Maxis sank 0.77 percent, MRDIY advanced 0.96 percent, Petronas Chemicals tumbled 1.64 percent, PPB Group rallied 1.65 percent, Press Metal climbed 1.04 percent, Public Bank dipped 0.23 percent, RHB Capital retreated 1.05 percent, Sime Darby shed 0.45 percent, Telekom Malaysia perked 0.19 percent, Tenaga Nasional added 0.88 percent, Top Glove stumbled 1.23 percent and Sime Darby Plantations, Genting Malaysia, Hartalega Holdings and MISC were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and remained in the green throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 183.56 points or 0.55 percent to finish at 33,781.48, while the NASDAQ rallied 123.45 points or 1.13 percent to end at 11,082.00 and the S&P 500 added 29.59 points or 0.75 percent to close at 3,963.51.

The strength on Wall Street came as traders picked up stocks at somewhat reduced levels following the sell-off seen to start the week, which reflected concerns about the outlook for interest rates and the economy.

Traders will be looking for signs of a slowdown in producer price inflation later today, as well as a reduction in inflation expectations amid concerns the Federal Reserve will need to push the economy into a prolonged recession in order to bring inflation down close to its 2 percent target.

The Labor Department reported that first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged slightly higher last week.

Crude oil showed a notable downturn over the course of the trading day on Thursday as traders remain concerned about the outlook for energy demand amid the possibility of a global recession. West Texas Intermediate for January delivery slid $0.55 or 0.8 percent to $71.46 a barrel.