Malaysia Stock Market May Reverse Thursday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Thursday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 55 points or 3.5 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,590-point plateau although it's likely to bounce higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat in easing concerns for the health of the United States economy. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. bourses were sharply higher 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 and telecoms.

For the day, the index eased 1.49 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 1,590.38 after trading between 1,579.69 and 1,593.24.

Among the actives, Axiata soared 2.63 percent, while Celcomdigi advanced 0.82 percent, CIMB Group lost 0.41 percent, Genting shed 0.46 percent, Genting Malaysia slumped 0.81 percent, IHH Healthcare dropped 0.48 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gained 0.48 percent, Maxis improved 0.59 percent, MISC stumbled 0.82 percent, Petronas Chemicals rallied 0.92 percent, PPB Group rose 0.41 percent, Press Metal perked 0.20 percent, Public Bank sank 0.47 percent, RHB Capital fell 0.35 percent, Sime Darby spiked 1.19 percent, SD Guthrie retreated 1.12 percent, Sunway added 0.77 percent, Telekom Malaysia tumbled 1.15 percent, Tenaga Nasional increased 0.43 percent, YTL Corporation dipped 0.31 percent, YTL Power plummeted 3.20 percent and IOI Corporation, Maybank, MRDIY, QL Resources and Hong Leong Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher and continued to accelerate throughout the day, ending near session highs.

The Dow surged 683.04 points or 1.76 percent to finish at 39,446.49, while the NASDAQ rallied 464.22 points or 2.87 percent to end at 16,660.02 and the S&P 500 jumped 119.81 points or 2.30 percent to close at 5,319.31.

The rally on Wall Street came after the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits pulled back by more than expected last week.

The data helped ease concerns about the strength of the labor market, which have contributed to recent selling on Wall Street.

On the corporate scene, athletic apparel company Under Armour (UAA) and pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly (LLY) bounced higher after strong results, while Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD) slumped after showing soft numbers.

Oil futures settled higher on Thursday, amid possible supply disruptions due to Middle East tensions, and on hopes of increased demand in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $0.96 or 1.28 percent at $76.19 a barrel.