(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Friday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 25 points or 1.4 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,600-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is continued volatility with a downward bias thanks to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.
The KLCI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, plantation stocks, telecoms and glove makers.
For the day, the index shed 14.60 points or 0.90 percent to finish at 1,603.94 after trading between 1,598.17 and 1,616.28. Volume was 3.445 billion shares worth 3.294 billion ringgit. There were 849 decliners and 239 gainers.
Among the actives, Axiata shed 0.78 percent, while CIMB Group lost 0.59 percent, Dialog Group stumbled 1.48 percent, Digi.com rose 0.25 percent, Genting and Sime Darby both surrendered 2.14 percent, Genting Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur Kepong both plunged 3.31 percent, Hartalega Holdings declined 2.11 percent, IHH Healthcare gained 0.46 percent, INARI retreated 1.98 percent, IOI Corporation sank 0.86 percent, Maybank weakened 1.32 percent, Maxis skidded 1.69 percent, MISC slid 0.27 percent, MRDIY fell 0.28 percent, Petronas Chemicals improved 0.40 percent, PPB Group tumbled 2.50 percent, Public Bank dipped 0.23 percent, RHB Capital dropped 0.85 percent, Sime Darby Plantations tanked 3.04 percent, Telekom Malaysia added 0.79 percent, Tenaga Nasional slumped 1.20 percent, Top Glove plummeted 4.46 percent and Press Metal and Petronas Dagangan were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Friday and remained solidly in the red throughout the session.
The Dow dropped 179.90 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 33,614.80, while the NASDAQ tumbled 224.46 points or 1.66 percent to close at 13,313.44 and the S&P sank 34.62 points or 0.79 percent to end at 4,328.87. For the week, the NASDAQ plunged 2.8 percent and the Dow and S&P both fell 1.3 percent.
The weakness on Wall Street came as concerns about the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine continued to weigh on the markets, with Russia ratcheting up its attacks and taking control of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
Worries about Ukraine overshadowed the Labor Department report that showed U.S. employment once again jumped by much more than expected in February.
Crude oil prices moved up sharply on Friday as worries about supply disruptions grew amid an escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended up by $8.01 or about 7.4 percent at $115.68 a barrel, the highest settlement since September 2008. WTI crude futures skyrocketed 26.3 percent for the week, the steepest climb in percentage terms since the week ending April 3, 2020.
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