Malaysia Shares May Gain Back Wednesday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market headed south again on Wednesday, one day after ending the six-day losing streak in which it had stumbled almost 35 points or 2.1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,610-point plateau although it's likely to bounce higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with energy and technology stocks expected to lead the way, The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares and plantations, while the telecoms were mixed.

For the day, the index fell 6.87 points or 0.43 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,608.53 after peaking at 1,622.65.

Among the actives, Axiata plummeted 2.44 percent, while Celcomdigi added 0.52 percent, CIMB Group surrendered 1.43 percent, Genting slumped 0.84 percent, Genting Malaysia shed 0.38 percent, IHH Healthcare eased 0.16 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong sank 0.47 percent, Maxis retreated 0.82 percent, Maybank declined 0.80 percent, MISC tumbled 1.16 percent, MRDIY skidded 0.55 percent, Petronas Chemicals perked 0.15 percent, PPB Group plunged 2.03 percent, Press Metal dipped 0.17 percent, Public Bank dropped 0.48 percent, QL Resources jumped 1.11 percent, RHB Capital lost 0.36 percent, Sime Darby tanked 1.79 percent, SD Guthrie slid 0.22 percent, Telekom Malaysia fell 0.32 percent, Tenaga Nasional rallied 2.16 percent, YTL Power rose 0.20 percent and IOI Corporation, YTL Corporation and AMMB Holdings were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, faded a bit but bounced solidly higher and sent the NASDAQ and S%P to fresh record closing highs.

The Dow added 96.04 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 38,807.33, while the NASDAQ surged 330.86 points or 1.96 percent to close at 17,187.90 and the S&P 500 rallied 62.69 points or 1.18 percent to end at 5,354.03.

The surge by the NASDAQ came as tech stocks continued to take their cues from Nvidia (NVDA), as the AI darling soared by 5.2 percent to a new record closing high.

The strength on Wall Street also came as a report from payroll processor ADP showing private sector job growth in the U.S. slowed by more than expected in the month of May added to optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

Treasury yields moved lower following the release of the jobs data, with the ten-year yield falling to its lowest levels in two months.

Crude oil prices bounced higher from four-month lows after OPEC decided not to extend production cuts. West Texas Intermediate for July delivery was up $1.04 or 1.42 percent to $74.29 per barrel.