Malaysia Shares Tipped To Find Traction On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, falling almost 10 points or 0.3 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,375-point plateau although it's expected to stop the bleeding on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

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

For the day, the index dipped 4.01 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 1,374.64 after trading between 1,369.41 and 1,376.62.

Among the actives, Axiata retreated 2.15 percent, while Celcomdigi shed 0.46 percent, Dialog Group sank 0.48 percent, Genting and Sime Darby both added 0.49 percent, Inari stumbled 1.61 percent, IOI Corporation dropped 0.53 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gained 0.37 percent, Maxis slumped 1.46 percent, Maybank collected 0.23 percent, MISC jumped 1.97 percent, MRDIY rallied 1.95 percent, Petronas Chemicals rose 0.16 percent, Press Metal tumbled 2.51 percent, RHB Capital advanced 0.57 percent, Sime Darby Plantations skidded 0.94 percent, Tenaga Nasional declined 1.62 percent and PPB Group, Public Bank, CIMB Group, IHH Healthcare, Telekom Malaysia, Genting Malaysia and Nestle Malaysia all were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages shook off a flat lead on Thursday and climbed steadily throughout the session, ending solidly in the green.

The Dow climbed 168.59 points or 0.50 percent to finish at 33,833.61, while the NASDAQ jumped 133.63 points or 1.02 percent to close at 13,238.52 and the S&P 500 rose 26.41 points or 0.62 percent to end at 4,293.93.

The strength on Wall Street reflected easing concerns about the outlook for interest rates following the Labor Department report showing initial jobless claims increased by much more than expected last week.

While jobless claims can be volatile around holidays like Memorial Day, the data seems to have added to optimism that the Federal Reserve will pause its interest rate hikes at Wednesday's meeting.

Crude oil prices regained ground after a midday sell-off but still ended Thursday's trading session firmly in negative territory as concerns about the outlook for energy demand continued to weigh on the markets. West Texas Intermediate for July shed $1.24 or 1.7 percent at $71.29 a barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will see April data for industrial production and unemployment later today. In March, industrial production was up 3.1 percent on year and the jobless rate was 3.5 percent.