Malaysia Stock Market May Slip Beneath 1,600 Points

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in four straight trading days, sinking almost 25 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,605-point plateau and it's likely to remain under pressure again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on concerns over treasury yields and the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are expected to follow suit.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.

For the day, the index fell 10.47 points or 0.65 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,605.35 after peaking at 1,614.71.

Among the actives, Axiata plummeted 3.52 percent, while Celcomdigi plunge 3.50 percent, CIMB Group slid 0.58 percent, Genting declined 1.24 percent, Genting Malaysia shed 0.72 percent, IHH Healthcare and Nestle Malaysia both eased 0.16 percent, IOI Corporation retreated 1.53 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong tanked 2.82 percent, Maxis sank 0.82 percent, Maybank skidded 0.90 percent, MISC dropped 0.84 percent, MRDIY rallied 1.10 percent, Petronas Chemicals stumbled 1.03 percent, PPB Group lost 0.67 percent, Press Metal dipped 0.37 percent, Public Bank weakened 0.97 percent, QL Resources slumped 0.93 percent, RHB Capital was down 0.36 percent, Sime Darby surrendered 2.10 percent, Sime Darby Plantations tumbled 2.08 percent, Telekom Malaysia fell 0.62 percent, Tenaga Nasional slipped 0.45 percent, YTL Corporation soared 4.07 percent and YTL Power surged 5.00 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened firmly lower on Wednesday and remained in the red throughout the trading day.

The Dow plunged 411.32 points or 1.06 percent to finish at 38,441.54, while the NASDAQ slumped 99.30 points or 0.58 percent to close ta 16,920.58 and the S&P 500 sank 39.09 points or 0.74 percent to end at 5,266.95.

The weakness on Wall Street came amid a continued increase by treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note climbing to its highest levels in nearly a month.

The continued advance by treasury yields has added to recent concerns about the outlook for interest rates ahead of key inflation data later in the week.

Crude oil prices fell on Wednesday on concerns about the outlook for interest rates, and the likely adverse impact high borrowing costs will have on energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July sank $0.60 at $79.23 a barrel.