Malaysia Bourse May Test Support At 1,700 Points

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in four straight sessions, slumping almost 45 points or 2.6 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,715-point plateau and it may take further damage on Monday

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative following the outbreak of hostilities between the United States and Israel against Iran. The European and U.S. markets were down on Friday and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished sharply lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, plantation stocks, telecoms and industrials.

For the day, the index tumbled 24.33 points or 1.40 percent to finish at 1,716.61 after trading between 1,714.09 and 1,737.06. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail tumbled 3.91 percent, while AMMB Holdings retreated 3.31 percent, Axiata lost 1.30 percent, Celcomdigi slumped 2.15 percent, CIMB Group tanked 4.96 percent, Gamuda skidded 1.64 percent, IHH Healthcare climbed 1.11 percent, IOI Corporation and Kuala Lumpur Kepong both fell 1.25 percent, Maxis was down 0.51 percent, Maybank gave up 0.33 percent, MISC dipped 0.62 percent, MRDIY jumped 1.70 percent, Nestle Malaysia slid 0.81 percent, Petronas Chemicals plunged 5.06 percent, Petronas Dagangan shed 1.35 percent, Petronas Gas contracted 2.60 percent, PPB Group added 0.37 percent, Press Metal plummeted 6.18 percent, Public Bank sank 1.40 percent, QL Resources rallied 2.00 percent, RHB Bank collected 1.20 percent, Sime Darby spiked 2.09 percent, SD Guthrie slipped 1.20 percent, Sunway dropped 1.51 percent, Telekom Malaysia eased 0.13 percent, Tenaga Nasional vaulted 1.41 percent, YTL Corporation stumbled 4.17 percent and YTL Power declined 2.75 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower and remained in the red throughout the trading day, ending near session lows.

The Dow tumbled 521.28 points or 1.05 percent to finish at 48,977.92, while the NASDAQ sank 210.17 points or 0.92 percent to end at 22,668.21 and the S&P 500 lost 29.98 points or 0.43 percent to close at 6,878.88.

For the week, the Dow tumbled 1.3 percent, the NASDAQ slumped 1.0 percent and the S&P 500 fell 0.4 percent.

The continued weakness on Wall Street followed the release of a Labor Department report showing producer prices in the U.S. increased 0.5 percent in January, more than the expected 0.3 percent.

The jump in producer prices along with concerns about AI-related layoffs led to worries about a period of stagflation. Adding to recent concerns about potential AI disruptions, Block (XYZ) said it is cutting its workforce by nearly half.

Crude oil prices spiked on Friday amid growing concerns about a military conflict between the U.S. and Iran. West Texas Intermediate crude for April surged $1.71 or 2.6 percent to $66.92 barrel - although it's expected to jump sharply again now that hostilities have broken out.