Malaysia Bourse May Give Up Support At 1,600 Points

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in five straight trading days, sinking more than 25 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,605-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is one of caution ahead of key inflation data later today. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the industrials and mixed performances from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.

For the day, the index eased 1.09 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 1,604.26 after trading between 1,602.32 and 1,608.84.

Among the actives, Axiata jumped 1.09 percent, while Celcomdigi advanced 0.78 percent, CIMB Group and Petronas Gas both slumped 0.44 percent, Genting spiked 1.46 percent, Genting Malaysia rallied 1.45 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Sime Darby Plantations both gained 0.47 percent, Maxis added 0.55 percent, MISC shed 0.24 percent, Petronas Chemicals sank 0.30 percent, PPB Group and Petronas Dagangan both dropped 0.41 percent, Press Metal surge 4.10 percent, QL Resources lost 0.16 percent, Sime Darby declined 0.71 percent, Telekom Malaysia tumbled 2.19 percent, Tenaga Nasional fell 0.15 percent, YTL Corporation retreated 1.56 percent, YTL Power plummeted 3.43 percent and MRDIY, Public Bank, RHB Capital, Maybank, IHH Healthcare, IOI Corporation and AMMB Holdings were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened solidly lower on Thursday and remained well in the red throughout the trading day, ending near session lows.

The Dow plunged 330.06 points or 0.86 percent to finish at 38,111.48, while the NASDAQ tumbled 183.50 points or 1.08 percent to end at 16,737.08 and the S&P 500 sank 31.47 points or 0.60 percent to close at 5,235.48.

The weakness on Wall Street was fueled by concerns about the outlook for interest rates ahead of the release of closely watched inflation data later today, which includes readings said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.

A nosedive by shares of Salesforce (CRM) weighed on the Dow, with the software company plunging 19.7 percent after reporting weaker than expected revenues and guidance.

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits crept modestly higher last week. Also, the Commerce Department said gross domestic product was revised down to 1.3 percent in Q1 from 1.6 percent.

Oil futures ended sharply lower on Thursday as a jump in gasoline inventories weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended down by $1.32 or 1.7 percent at $77.91 a barrel.