Malaysia Shares May Tick Lower On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Wednesday ended the four-day losing streak in which it had stumbled more than 25 points or 1.7 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,540-point plateau although it may head south again on Thursday.

The global forecast for thew Asian markets is mixed to lower, with oil and technology stocks likely to weigh. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday as gains from the financials and telecoms were capped by weakness from the plantation stocks.

For the day, the index rose 5.42 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 1,540.42 after trading between 1,532.95 and 1,541.88.

Among the actives, Axiata surged 4.00 percent, while Celcomdigi slumped 1.19 percent, CIMB Group climbed 0.77 percent, Genting slid 0.22 percent, Genting Malaysia gained 0.38 percent, IHH Healthcare fell 0.16 percent, IOI Corporation stumbled 1.24 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong dropped 1.05 percent, Maxis shed 0.29 percent, Maybank collected 0.21 percent, MISC perked 0.13 percent, MRDIY advanced 0.67 percent, Petronas Chemicals added 0.44 percent, PPB Group tumbled 1.52 percent, Press Metal retreated 1.13 percent, Public Bank jumped 1.22 percent, QL Resources rallied 0.82 percent, RHB Capital and Tenaga Nasional both improved 0.35 percent, Sime Darby rose 0.37 percent, Sime Darby Plantations sank 0.67 percent, Telekom Malaysia soared 2.17 percent, YTL Corporation accelerated 0.81 percent, YTL Power spiked 2.09 percent and Hong Leong Financial was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday but quickly turned lower, spending most of the rest of the day in the red.

The Dow shed 45.66 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 37,753.31, while the NASDAQ tumbled 181.88 points or 1.15 percent to end at 15,683.37 and the S&P 500 sank 29.20 points or 0.58 percent to close at 5,022.21.

The lower close on Wall Street came on concerns about the outlook for interest rates following remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who suggested rates are likely to remain higher for longer amid a "lack of progress" toward reaching the central bank's inflation goal.

Weakness among technology stocks weighed on the tech-heavy NASDAQ as shares of Nvidia (NVDA) came under pressure, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index also slumped.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Wednesday, adding to modest losses in the two previous sessions after data showed a surge in U.S. crude oil inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery plunged $2.67 or 3.1 percent to $82.69 a barrel.