The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 10 points or 0.6 percent. The Kuala Composite Index now rests just above the 1,595-point plateau and it's tipped to rebound again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian is positive after a couple of days of weakness, although sinking crude oil prices may cap the upside. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow suit.
The KLCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday as losses from the financials, plantations and telecoms were mitigated by support from the glove makers.
For the day, the index sank 10.99 points or 0.68 percent to finish at the daily low of 1596.58 after peaking at 1,605.73. Volume was 8.683 billion shares worth 4.397 billion ringgit. There were 551 decliners and 509 gainers.
Among the actives, Axiata plummeted 4.75 percent, while CIMB Group retreated 1.63 percent, Dialog Group was down 0.32 percent, Digi.com sank 1.18 percent, Genting weakened 0.41 percent, Genting Malaysia declined 1.37 percent, Hartalega Holdings soared 2.53 percent, IHH Healthcare skid 0.56 percent, IOI Corporation surrendered 1.23 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong tanked 1.91 percent, Maybank gave up 0.12 percent, Maxis plunged 2.09 percent, Petronas Chemicals lost 0.76 percent, PPB Group dipped 0.54 percent, Press Metal eased 0.19 percent, Public Bank slipped 0.48 percent, RHB Capital fell 0.75 percent, Sime Darby dropped 0.85 percent, Sime Darby Plantations skidded 1.77 percent, Supermax surged 2.59 percent, Telekom Malaysia tumbled 1.85 percent, Tenaga Nasional shed 0.79 percent, Top Glove spiked 0.93 percent and MISC and Petronas Gas were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages shook off early weakness on Wednesday and finished firmly in the green, snapping a two-day slide.
The Dow spiked 316.01 points or 0.93 percent to finish at 34,137.31, while the NASDAQ jumped 163.95 points or 1.19 percent to end at 13,950.22 and the S&P 500 climbed 38.48 points or 0.93 percent to close at 4,173.42.
Despite concerns about high valuations, traders have largely been reluctant to sell stocks amid worries about missing out on further upside.
Stocks linked to the economy reopening saw significant strength, while shares of Netflix (NFLX) moved sharply lower after the company reported much weaker than expected subscriber growth.
Crude oil futures declined sharply on Wednesday amid rising concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to rising coronavirus infections in India. Data showing an unexpected uptick in U.S. crude inventories also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June fell $1.32 or 2.1 percent at $61.35 a barrel, the lowest close since April 13.
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