(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in three straight trading days, slipping more than 20 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,590-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic thanks to a jump in crude oil prices and slightly easing fears of a recession in the United States. 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 barely lower on Wednesday following losses from the financials, support from the telecoms and a mixed picture from the plantation stocks.
For the day, the index eased 1.02 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 1,589.82 after trading between 1,585.66 and 1,592.13. Volume was 1.9 billion shares worth 1.5 billion ringgit. There were 517 decliners and 305 gainers.
Among the actives, Sime Darby surged 4.27 percent, while MISC soared 3.45 percent, AMMB Holdings accelerated 2.76 percent, Public Bank plunged 1.84 percent, CIMB Group tumbled 1.39 percent, Hong Leong Bank skidded 1.33 percent, Press Metal perked 1.05 percent, Sime Darby Plantations spiked 1.04 percent, Tenaga Nasional jumped 1.03 percent, Genting Malaysia retreated 0.98 percent, IOI Corporation sank 0.71 percent, RHB Capital dropped 0.70 percent, Digi.com advanced 0.60 percent, Top Glove shed 0.43 percent, IHH Healthcare added 0.35 percent, Petronas Chemicals gained 0.29 percent, Maybank lost 0.23 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong dipped 0.17 percent and Dialog Group and Genting were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks shook off early weakness Wednesday to bounce higher and finish firmly in the green.
The Dow added 258.20 points or 1.00 percent to 26,036, while the NASDAQ gained 29.94 points or 0.38 percent to 7,856.88 and the S&P 500 rose 18.78 points or 0.65 percent to 2,887.94.
The energy sectors led the rebound as crude oil futures ended higher Wednesday, buoyed by data showing a significant drop in U.S. crude stockpiles last week. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for October ended up $0.85 or 1.6 percent at $55.78 a barrel.
The rebound on Wall Street also came as bond yields climbed off their worst levels of the session, although they remained negative.
Earlier in the day, the negative spread between the ten-year and two-year yields widened to its lowest level since 2007, with an inverted yield curve seen as an indicator that a U.S. recession is looming.
Closer to home, Malaysia will release July figures for producer prices later today; in June, prices were down 0.9 percent on month and 1.8 percent on year.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
