Malaysian stock market could spin its wheels on Thursday

(RTTNews) – The Malaysian stock market has risen in consecutive sessions, reaping more than 10 points or 0.7% along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,410-point plateau, although the rally may stall on Thursday.

The global forecast for Asian markets is weak due to concerns over the outlook for interest rates. European markets were up and US stock markets were down and Asian markets should follow the latter lead.

KLCI ended slightly higher on Wednesday after gains in financials and mixed performance in telecoms and plantations.

For the day, the index rose 5.49 points or 0.39% to end at 1,412.04 after trading between 1,406.51 and 1,413.52.

Among assets, Axiata fell 0.66%, while CIMB Group rose 0.19%, Dialog Group rose 0.88%, Genting gained 0.45%, Genting Malaysia strengthened 1.19 %, Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell 0.10%, Maybank rose 1.79%, Maxis jumped 1.78%. MISC rose 0.56%, MRDIY jumped 1.86%, Petronas Chemicals lost 0.44%, PPB Group fell 0.84%, Press Metal fell 1.26%, Public Bank lost raised 0.25%, Sime Darby climbed 0.93%, Tenaga Nasional added 0.53% and Digi.com, IHH Healthcare, INARI, IOI Corporation, Sime Darby Plantations, Telekom Malaysia, RHB Capital and QL Resources are remained unchanged.

Wall Street’s advance is broadly negative as the major averages opened on Wednesday and remained unchanged until the FOMC announcement, which sent them tumbling.

The Dow Jones plunged 530.49 points or 1.63% to end at 32,030.11, while the NASDAQ fell 190.15 points or 1.60% to close at 11,669.96 and the S&P 500 rose. fell 65.90 points or 1.65% to end at 3,936.97.

The end-of-day sell-off on Wall Street came after the Federal Reserve announced its decision to continue raising interest rates despite recent turmoil in the banking sector.

While the interest rate hike was widely expected, some traders may have hoped the Fed would leave rates unchanged.

The latest central bank projections suggest the Fed plans to raise rates just once this year to a range of 5.0-5.25%.

Crude oil futures stabilized on Wednesday after data showed crude inventories rose 1.117 million barrels last week. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for May settled at $70.90 a barrel, gaining $1.23 or 1.8%.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.