The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, sinking almost 20 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,410-point plateau and it may take further damage again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian is increasingly negative as the debt ceiling situation in the United States continues to drag on. The European and U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.
The KLCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financials, plantations and telecoms.
For the day, the index dipped 1.92 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 1,409.62 after trading between 1,406.27 and 1,414.66.
Among the actives, Axiata rose 0.34 percent, while CIMB Group dropped 0.60 percent, Dialog Group spiked 1.41 percent, Celcomdigi added 0.68 percent, Genting slumped 0.90 percent, Genting Malaysia stumbled 1.13 percent, IHH Healthcare skidded 0.85 percent, INARI surged 4.65 percent, IOI Corporation gained 0.51 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong slid 0.27 percent, Maxis improved 0.48 percent, Maybank sank 0.58 percent, MISC fell 0.41 percent, Petronas Chemicals advanced 0.87 percent, PPB Group eased 0.12 percent, Press Metal and Tenaga Nasional both lost 0.42 percent, Public Bank collected 0.26 percent, RHB Capital retreated 0.91 percent, Sime Darby declined 0.94 percent, Sime Darby Plantations tumbled 1.56 percent, Telekom Malaysia soared 2.00 percent and MRDIY, Petronas Dagangan and QL Resources were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street suggests continued consolidation as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and remained in the red throughout the trading day.
The Dow tumbled 255.59 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 32,799.92. while the NASDAQ sank 76.08 points or 0.61 percent to close at 12,484.16 and the S&P 500 dropped 30.34 points or 0.73 percent to end at 4,115.24.
Lingering concerns about lawmakers' ability to reach an agreement on increasing the U.S. debt ceiling continued to weigh on Wall Street.
While negotiations have continued this week, traders remain worried about reports suggesting a lack of progress towards a deal.
Traders were also digesting the minutes of the Federal Reserve's May monetary policy meeting, which indicated uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates.
Crude oil prices moved higher Wednesday, rising for the third consecutive session on concerns over tightening supply after data showed a larger than expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July jumped $1.43 or 2 percent at $74.34 a barrel.
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