Malaysia Bourse May Extend Thursday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had risen more than 20 points or 1.2 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,750-point plateau and it's tipped to open under water again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on AI concerns and ahead of key U.S. inflation data. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares, telecoms and plantations.

For the day, the index fell 5.54 points or 0.32 percent to finish at 1,750.85 after trading between 1,748.30 and 1,758.06. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail stumbled 1.50 percent, Axiata dropped 0.86 percent, Celcomdigi retreated 1.23 percent, CIMB Group lost 0.70 percent, Gamuda gained 0.49 percent, IHH Healthcare weakened 0.23 percent, IOI Corporation contracted 0.25 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 0.10 percent, Maxis sank 0.78 percent, Maybank slumped 0.98 percent, MISC advanced 0.87 percent, MRDIY tumbled 1.08 percent, Nestle Malaysia fell 0.63 percent, Petronas Chemicals added 0.60 percent, Petronas Gas jumped 1.64 percent, PPB Group skidded 0.90 percent, Press Metal shed 0.77 percent, Public Bank gave up 0.19 percent, QL Resources plunged 1.71 percent, RHB Bank was down 0.12 percent, Sime Darby rallied 1.29 percent, Sunway slipped 0.52 percent, Telekom Malaysia slid 0.50 percent, Tenaga Nasional rose 0.29 percent, YTL Corporation declined 1.00 percent, YTL Power dipped 0.33 percent and AMMB Holdings, SD Guthrie and Petronas Dagangan were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday but quickly headed south and trended lower as the day progressed, ending at session lows.

The Dow stumbled 669.42 points or 1.34 percent to finish at 49,451.98, while the NASDAQ plunged 469.32 points or 2.03 percent to close at 22,597.15 and the S&P 500 dropped 108.71 points or 1.57 percent to end at 6,832.76.

The sell-off on Wall Street was partly attributed to concerns about the impact of the artificial intelligence buildout on industries other than the tech sector, such as financial, transportation and logistics and commercial real estate companies.

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits dipped less than expected last week. Also, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales pulled back much more than expected in January.

The focus now shifts to the Labor Department's report on consumer price inflation that is due to be released before the start of trading on Friday.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Thursday after the demand forecast by the International Energy Agency for 2026 projected an overwhelming supply glut. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was down $1.97 or 3.05 percent at $62.66 per barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will provide Q4 figures for GDP and current account later today; in the three months prior, GDP was up 5.2 percent on year and the current account surplus was MYR12.20 billion.