Malaysia Market Likely Rangebound On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has fallen in back-to-back trading days, easing just 7 points or 0.4 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index ended just above the 1,760-point plateau, and the market figures to remain stuck in neutral again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is slightly soft, with a heavy dose of volatility in what is expected to be light trade following the New Year's holiday. Weak economic data from the United States adds to the negative sentiment. The European markets were mixed on Wednesday and the U.S. bourses were down, and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday as losses from the financial shares and industrial issues were mitigated by support from the plantation stocks.

For the day, the index dipped 5.58 points or 0.32 percent to finish at 1,761.25 after trading between 1,755.93 and 1,768.85. Volume was 1.35 billion shares worth 1.61 billion ringgit. There were 394 decliners and 391 gainers, with 285 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Tenaga Nasional, Public Bank, Axiata and Sime Darby all finished lower, while Maybank, Minetech and Malayan United Industries all ended higher.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks turned lower on Wednesday. While the pullback was exaggerated by light volume, the major averages showed a steep drop after opening higher.

The Dow tumbled 160.00 points or 0.9 percent to 17,823.07, while the NASDAQ slid 41.39 points or 0.9 percent to 4,736.05 and the S&P 500 slumped 21.45 points or 1 percent to 2,058.90. For the year, the Dow surged 7.5 percent, while the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 soared 13.4 percent and 11.4 percent, respectively.

The pullback by stocks may partly have reflected profit taking on the last trading day of 2014 following the strength seen for much of the year.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted a bigger than expected rebound in initial jobless claims in the week ended December 27. MNI Indicators also said its Chicago business barometer fell to a five-month low in December.

On the other hand, the National Association of Realtors reported a bigger than expected rebound in pending home sales in November.