Little Movement Seen For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Wednesday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 25 points or 1.7 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,450-point plateau and it's expected to remain in that neighborhood again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat and mixed to lower on recession concerns and sliding crude oil prices. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms, while the glove makers offered strong support.

For the day, the index dipped 3.26 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 1,451.48 after trading between 1,445.23 and 1,459.86. Volume was 2.378 billion shares worth 1.774 billion ringgit. There were 461 decliners and 368 gainers.

Among the actives, Hartalega Holdings skyrocketed 11.32 percent, while Top Glove surged 6.67 percent, Digi.com soared 5.23 percent, Press Metal plummeted 4.32 percent, PPB Group plunged 2.48 percent, Sime Darby Plantations tanked 2.26 percent, Petronas Chemicals tumbled 1.95 percent, Axiata spiked 1.78 percent, Genting declined 1.51 percent, Tenaga Nasional jumped 1.51 percent, INARI retreated 1.50 percent, Maxis climbed 1.22 percent, Petronas Dagangan slumped 1.20 percent, CIMB Group skidded 1.00 percent, MRDIY dropped 0.97 percent, Sime Darby advanced 0.93 percent, Public Bank sank 0.90 percent, Genting Malaysia shed 0.70 percent, Hong Leong Bank collected 0.59 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost 0.53 percent, RHB Capital fell 0.35 percent, IHH Healthcare added 0.31 percent, MISC dipped 0.28 percent, IOI Corporation gained 0.26 percent, Petronas Gas rose 0.24 percent, Telekom Malaysia improved 0.19 percent, Maybank was up 0.12 percent and Dialog Group and Hong Leong Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is fairly flat as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday, spiked up and down throughout the day before finally ending the session mixed and little changed.

The Dow climbed 82.32 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 31,029.31, while the NASDAQ dipped 3.65 points or 0.03 percent to close at 11,177.89 and the S&P 500 eased 2.72 points or 0.07 percent to end at 3,818.83.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets kept traders on the sidelines following recent volatility.

Traders also kept an eye on remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who participated in a panel discussion at the European Central Bank Forum on Central Banking. Powell reiterated that the U.S. economy is "well positioned to withstand tighter monetary policy" but cautioned there's no guarantee the Fed can engineer a "soft landing."

In economic news, revised data from the Commerce Department showed U.S. economic activity shrank by slightly more than previously estimated in the first quarter of 2022.

Crude oil prices drifted lower Wednesday, snapping a three-day winning streak with traders looking to the two-day OPEC meeting that began today to discuss supply issues. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended lower by $1.98 or 1.8 percent at $109.78 a barrel.