The Malaysia stock market headed south again on Wednesday, one session after snapping the four-day losing streak in which it had slumped almost 25 points or 1.5 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,380-point plateau and it may take further damage on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian is soft on nervousness over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The KLCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, plantations and telecoms.
For the day, the index slipped 4.52 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 1,378.65 after trading between 1,371.74 and 1,383.55.
Among the actives, Axiata retreated 2.45 percent, while Celcomdigi dropped 1.14 percent, CIMB Group collected 0.41 percent, Genting skidded 1.20 percent, Genting Malaysia lost 0.40 percent, IHH Healthcare stumbled 2.72 percent, Inari sank 0.80 percent, IOI Corporation shed 0.79 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong jumped 1.12 percent, Maxis slid 0.24 percent, MISC eased 0.14 percent, MRDIY slumped 1.28 percent, Petronas Chemicals declined 1.69 percent, PPB Group advanced 0.51 percent, Press Metal added 0.21 percent, RHB Capital was down 0.19 percent, Sime Darby rallied 2.01 percent, Sime Darby Plantations tumbled 2.73 percent, Tenaga Nasional fell 0.32 percent and Dialog Group, Public Bank, Maybank and Telekom Malaysia were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday; the Dow kept bouncing up and down but finished in the green, while the NASDAQ and S&P quickly headed south and remained in the red.
The Dow added 94.93 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 33,668.21, while the NASDAQ dropped 168.22 points or 1.27 percent to end at 13,108.19 and the S&P 500 sank 15.82 points or 0.37 percent to close at 4,268.03.
The sharp pullback by the NASDAQ came after the Bank of Canada once again raised interest rates after leaving rates unchanged for two straight meetings, raising the concerns about the outlook for U.S. rates.
The Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its latest monetary policy decision next Wednesday, with the central bank widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged.
In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit widened significantly in April as the value of exports plummeted.
Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday as Saudi Arabia's recent decision to cut crude output outweighed concerns about demand, while data showing a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week also supported prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $0.79 or 1.1 percent at $72.53 a barrel.
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