The Malaysia stock market on Wednesday wrote a finish to the five-day losing streak in which it had tumbled almost 65 points or 4.6 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,400-point plateau although it may head south again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with financials likely to lead the way lower amid fresh concerns over the stability of the sector. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.
The KLCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares, telecoms and plantations.
For the day, the index gained 10.10 points or 0.72 percent to finish at 1,403.93 after trading between 1,399.80 and 1,406.57.
Among the actives, Axiata rallied 1.36 percent, while CIMB Group and Genting Malaysia both improved 1.16 percent, Dialog Group surged 2.17 percent, Genting advanced 1.12 percent, INARI gained 0.51 percent, IOI Corporation strengthened 1.33 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rose 0.29 percent, Maybank was up 0.12 percent, Maxis soared 1.86 percent, MISC shed 0.42 percent, MRDIY spiked 1.81 percent, Petronas Chemicals and Sime Darby Plantations both added 0.72 percent, Press Metal perked 0.21 percent, Public Bank accelerated 1.80 percent, RHB Capital collected 0.91 percent, Telekom Malaysia climbed 1.14 percent, Tenaga Nasional jumped 1.62 percent and Digi.com, IHH Healthcare, PPB Group and Sime Darby were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is largely negative as the major averages opened sharply lower on Wednesday. A late push pared the losses and nudged the NASDAQ barely into the green.
The Dow tumbled 280.83 points or 0.87 percent to finish at 31,874.57, while the NASDAQ perked 5.90 points or 0.05 percent to close at 11,434.05 and the S&P 500 sank 27.36 points or 0.70 percent to end at 3,891.93.
The weakness on Wall Street was fueled by weakness from the financial sector.
In addition to ongoing concerns about turmoil in the financial sector following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, short-term debt woes of Swiss lender Credit Suisse contributed to the bearish sentiment in the market.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said retail sales in U.S. fell slightly more than expected in February. Also, the Labor Department said producer prices in the U.S. unexpectedly edged slightly lower last month.
Crude oil prices plunged to their lowest level since December 2021 on Wednesday, amid rising concerns about global economic growth and worries about the outlook for energy demand after data showed an increase in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate futures for April tumbled 5 percent at $67.61 a barrel.
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