Renewed Selling Pressure Likely For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market moved back to the upside again on Thursday, one day after ending the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up almost 6 points or 0.4 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,640-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on ebbing optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets finished slightly lower and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the plantation stocks, industrial companies and financial shares.

For the day, the index rose 6.03 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 1,640.94 after trading between 1,638.67 and 1,646.14.

Among the actives, Celcomdigi spiked 1.70 percent, while CIMB Group gained 0.62 percent, Genting improved 0.73 percent, Genting Malaysia gathered 0.42 percent, IHH Healthcare rose 0.55 percent, IOI Corporation perked 0.27 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong added 0.67 percent, Maxis advanced 0.82 percent, Maybank collected 0.38 percent, MISC rallied 1.17 percent, Nestle Malaysia tumbled 1.24 percent, Petronas Chemicals picked up 0.18 percent, Petronas Gas dipped 0.23 percent, Press Metal strengthened 0.20 percent, QL Resources sank 0.43 percent, RHB Bank increased 0.32 percent, Sime Darby soared 1.63 percent, SD Guthrie climbed 0.87 percent, Telekom Malaysia was up 0.15 percent, Tenaga Nasional fell 0.28 percent, YTL Corporation surged 2.46 percent, YTL Power accelerated 1.37 percent and Axiata, PPB Group, MRDIY, Public Bank, Sunway and Hong Leong Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild consolidation as the major averages opened slightly under water on Thursday and pretty much stayed that way throughout the session.

The Dow shed 57.88 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 42,454.12, while the NASDAQ dipped 9.57 points or 0.05 percent to close at 18,282.05 and the S&P 500 sank 11.99 points or 0.21 percent to end at 5,780.05.

The modest weakness on Wall Street followed the release of a highly anticipated Labor Department report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased by slightly more than expected in the month of September.

The bigger than expected increase by consumer prices further offset optimism that the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively lower interest rates in the coming months.

Negative sentiment was also generated in reaction to a separate Labor Department report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits increased by much more than expected last week.

Oil prices rose sharply on Thursday as worries about escalating tensions in the Middle East outweighed uncertainty about the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended higher by $2.61 or about 3.56 percent at $75.85 a barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will see August figures for industrial production later today; in July, production was up 5.3 percent on year.