Malaysia Stock Market May Extend Thursday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Thursday wrote a finish to the four-day winning streak in which it had climbed more than 35 points or 2.3 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,485-point plateau and it's tipped to take further damage on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

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

For the day, the index dipped 3.93 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 1,484.26 after trading between 1,483.54 and 1,494.54.

Among the actives, AMMB Holdings plunged 1.52 percent, while Dialog Group dropped 0.39 percent, Digi.com tanked 1.16 percent, Genting declined 0.98 percent, Genting Malaysia slumped 0.70 percent, IHH Healthcare and Maybank both sank 0.34 percent, INARI jumped 1.17 percent, IOI Corporation rose 0.26 percent, Maxis added 0.49 percent, MISC rallied 2.05 percent, MRDIY plummeted 2.69 percent, Petronas Chemicals and Public Bank both lost 0.24 percent, Petronas Gas tumbled 1.35 percent, RHB Capital dipped 0.18 percent, Sime Darby retreated 0.85 percent, Telekom Malaysia fell 0.19 percent, Tenaga Nasional skidded 0.50 percent and Sime Darby Plantations, PPB Group, Press Metal, Axiata, CIMB Group, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Hong Leong Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened sharply lower on Thursday, pared the losses midday but then slumped again to finish near session lows.

The Dow plunged 431.20 points or 1.26 percent to finish at 33,696.85, while the NASDAQ tumbled 214.76 points or 1.78 percent to close at 11,855.83 and the S&P 500 dropped 57.19 points or 1.38 percent to end at 4,090.41.

The steep drop on Wall Street followed the Labor Department report showing a bigger than expected increase in producer prices, leading to renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

A separate Labor Department report showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged slightly lower last week.

Oil futures settled lower on Thursday, extending losses to a third straight session on recent data showing a surge in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended down $0.10 at $78.49 a barrel.