(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in back-to-back sessions, slumping almost 25 points or 1.6 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,685-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on hopes for an end to the U.S.-Iran war. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The KLCI finished modestly lower on Thursday as losses from the financial shares and plantation stocks were mitigated by support from the telecoms.
For the day, the index sank 14.09 points or 0.83 percent to finish at 1,684.93 after trading between 1,683.08 and 1,707.91. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail sank 0.60 percent, while AMMB Holdings advanced 0.61 percent, Axiata spiked 1.54 percent, Celcomdigi slumped 0.65 percent, CIMB Group tanked 2.47 percent, Gamuda added 0.47 percent, Hong Leong Bank plunged 3.29 percent, IHH Healthcare was up 0.11 percent, IOI Corporation shed 0.50 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong stumbled 1.87 percent, Maxis gained 0.29 percent, Maybank plummeted 4.02 percent, MISC rose 0.25 percent, MRDIY and Public Bank both dropped 0.63 percent, Nestle Malaysia perked 0.02 percent, Petronas Chemicals increased 0.55 percent, Petronas Dagangan retreated 1.70 percent, Petronas Gas jumped 1.18 percent, PPB Group tumbled 2.00 percent, RHB Bank contracted 1.09 percent, Sime Darby lost 0.48 percent, Sunway rallied 1.15 percent, Telekom Malaysia climbed 0.81 percent, Tenaga Nasional improved 0.56 percent, YTL Corporation declined 1.45 percent, YTL Power vaulted 0.97 percent and Press Metal, SD Guthrie and Sunway Healthcare were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened lower on Thursday but quickly moved to the upside to finish with varying degrees of gains to close at fresh record highs.
The Dow added 24.69 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 50,668.97, while the NASDAQ jumped 242.74 points or 0.91 percent to end at 26,917.47 and the S&P 500 gained 43.27 points or 0.58 percent to close at 7,563.63.
The turnaround on Wall Street came after a report from Axios said U.S. and Iranian negotiators have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding.
Crude oil prices handed back most of their early gains on Thursday after reports of the understanding between the U.S. and Iran. After surging as much as $3.84 or 4.3 percent to a high of $92.52 a barrel, crude for July delivery ended up $0.32 or 0.4 percent at $89 a barrel.
In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department said consumer prices in the U.S. increased slightly less than expected in April.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
