Malaysia Stock Market May Halt Losing Streak On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in four straight sessions, slumping almost 20 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,590-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with profit taking among the technology stocks likely to cap any upside. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

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

For the day, the index shed 7.10 points or 0.44 percent to finish at 1,592.69 after trading between 1,590.75 and 1,596.27.

Among the actives, Axiata plunged 2.57 percent, while Celcomdigi sank 0.27 percent, CIMB Group retreated 0.74 percent, Genting lost 0.21 percent, Genting Malaysia skidded 0.39 percent, IHH Healthcare declined 0.48 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell 0.20 percent, Maxis tumbled 1.66 percent, Maybank eased 0.10 percent, MISC perked 0.12 percent, PPB Group dropped 0.28 percent, Press Metal rose 0.35 percent, Public Bank shed 0.25 percent, QL Resources and SD Guthrie both gained 0.47 percent, RHB Capital collected 0.36 percent, Sime Darby plummeted 2.69 percent, Telekom Malaysia stumbled 0.45 percent, Tenaga Nasional slumped 0.43 percent, YTL Corporation tanked 1.96 percent, YTL Power added 0.60 percent and MRDIY, Petronas Chemicals, IOI Corporation, Hong Leong Bank and Nestle Malaysia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened higher, but the NASDAQ and S&P 500 turned lower and finished that way - while the Dow ended in the green.

The Dow rallied 299.90 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 39,134.76, while the NASDAQ stumbled 140.64 points or 0.79 percent to close at 17,721.59 and the S&P sank 13.86 points or 0.25 percent to end at 5,473.17.

While the early strength on Wall Street came amid a continued advanced by shares of Nvidia (NVDA), the subsequent downturn by the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 was also led by a significant pullback by the AI darling and market leader.

The downturn by the NASDAQ and the S&P may also have reflected profit taking after the indexes reached new record intraday highs, with the S&P 500 turning lower after climbing above 5,500 for the first time.

In economic news, the Labor Department reported a modest pullback by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Commerce Department noted a steep drop in new U.S. residential construction in May.

Crude oil prices advanced on Thursday after data showed crude inventories in the U.S. fell slightly more than expected last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $0.60 at $82.17 a barrel.