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Shutterstock photo(RTTNews.com) – The Malaysia stock market has tracked into the red in two straight trading days, giving away almost 10 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,820-point plateau and it’s likely to take further damage again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft thanks to expected profit taking, although support from crude oil prices will limit the downside. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The KLCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following weakness from the telecoms and mixed performances from the financials and plantations.
Among the actives, British American Tobacco plummeted 4.94 percent, while Genting Malaysia plunged 3.30 percent, Astro Malaysia Holdings tumbled 2.55 percent, YTL Corporation spiked 1.39 percent, Telekom Malaysia skidded 1.15 percent, Digi.com dropped 1.03 percent, Sime Darby advanced 0.37 percent, Petronas Chemicals shed 0.37 percent, IHH Healthcare added 0.34 percent, IOI Corporation lost 0.21 percent, CIMB Group fell 0.15 percent, Tenaga Nasional eased 0.13 percent and Maybank and Public Bank both collected 0.10 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks fell under pressure early Wednesday before rebounding from their worst levels of the day, although they still closed in negative territory.
The Dow dipped 16.67 points or 0.07 percent to 25,369.13, while the NASDAQ edged down 10.01 points or 0.14 percent to 7,153.57 and the S&P 500 eased 3.06 points or 0.11 percent to 2,748.23.
Profit taking contributed to the early weakness on Wall Street after the major averages again climbed to new record closing highs in the previous session.
Reports indicating that Chinese officials have recommended slowing or halting purchases of U.S. Treasuries also weighed on the markets.
In economic news, the Labor Department said import prices rose less than expected in December, and also noted an unexpected decrease in export prices. Also, the Commerce Department said wholesale inventories increased more than anticipated in November.
Crude oil futures continued to rise Wednesday, extending four-year highs amid further signs the global oil market is tightening. February West Texas Intermediate rose 61 cents or 1 percent to $63.57 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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