Malaysia Shares May Run Out Of Steam On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, collecting almost 17 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,600-point plateau although the rally may stall on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild consolidation on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were slightly soft and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on gains from the industrials and mixed performances from the financials, telecoms and plantations.

For the day, the index perked 1.10 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 1,604.25 after trading between 1,600.83 and 1,609.41.

Among the actives, Axiata tumbled 0.86 percent, while Celcomdigi gained 0.28 percent, CIMB Group increased 0.24 percent, Genting gathered 0.27 percent, Genting Malaysia improved 0.47 percent, IHH Healthcare advanced 0.55 percent, IOI Corporation spiked 1.32 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong plummeted 5.18 percent, Maxis fell 0.28 percent, Maybank lost 0.39 percent, MISC tanked 2.12 percent, MRDIY added 0.54 percent, Nestle Malaysia climbed 0.96 percent, Petronas Chemicals plunged 2.47 percent, PPB Group dropped 0.45 percent, Public Bank collected 0.23 percent, QL Resources shed 0.41 percent, RHB Bank soared 1.65 percent, SD Guthrie eased 0.21 percent, Sunway slumped 0.81 percent, Telekom Malaysia rallied 1.25 percent, Tenaga Nasional sank 0.43 percent, YTL Corporation skyrocketed 7.18 percent, YTL Power surged 6.88 percent and Press Metal, Sime Darby, Hong Leong Bank and Petronas Gas were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened mixed on Wednesday but all trended lower as the day progressed and ended in the red.

The Dow dropped 138.25 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 44,722.06, while the NASDAQ slumped 115.10 points or 0.60 percent to close at 19,060.48 and the S&P 500 sank 22.89 points or 0.38 percent to end at 5,998.74.

The pullback by the NASDAQ was fueled by substantial weakness among computer hardware stocks, led lower by PC makers Dell Technologies (DELL) and HP Inc. (HPQ) after providing disappointing earnings guidance.

Weakness among semiconductor and networking stocks also weighed on the NASDAQ, while biotechnology stocks showed a strong move to the upside.

The weakness in the broader markets came after the Commerce Department released closely watched inflation data that matched expectations. While the faster annual price growth was in line with estimates, the acceleration raised concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

Crude oil moved slightly lower on Wednesday as traders weighed news of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah against data showing a bigger than expected drop by U.S. crude oil inventories. West Texas Intermediate for January delivery eased $0.05 or 0.1 percent to $68.72 a barrel.