Malaysia Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Red

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the five-day losing streak in which it had slumped almost 60 points or 3.6 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,710-point plateau although it's likely to head south again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on growing concerns over surging energy prices. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the plantations, telecoms and industrials, while the financial shares were mixed.

For the day, the index advanced 14.98 points or 0.88 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,713.20 after trading as low as 1,701.83. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail soared 1.74 percent, while AMMB Holdings gained 0.62 percent, Axiata gathered 0.43 percent, Celcomdigi and Sime Darby both jumped 1.26 percent, CIMB Group and Tenaga Nasional both expanded 1.13 percent, Gamuda vaulted 1.21 percent, IHH Healthcare perked 0.22 percent, IOI Corporation picked up 0.26 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong added 0.65 percent, Maxis accelerated 1.58 percent, Maybank collected 0.34 percent, MISC was up 0.12 percent, MRDIY tumbled 1.16 percent, Nestle Malaysia improved 1.03 percent, Petronas Chemicals surged 2.90 percent, Petronas Dagangan sank 0.72 percent, Petronas Gas increased 1.01 percent, Press Metal skyrocketed 3.38 percent, Public Bank and Sunway both rallied 1.24 percent, QL Resources shed 0.51 percent, SD Guthrie advanced 1.08 percent, Telekom Malaysia strengthened 1.20 percent, YTL Corporation rose 0.59 percent, YTL Power climbed 1.12 percent and PPB Group and RHB Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and spent all day in the red, although ending off session lows.

The Dow tumbled 784.67 points or 1.61 percent to finish at 47,954.74, while the NASDAQ sank 58.50 points or 0.26 percent to close at 22,748.99 and the S&P 500 lost 38.79 points or 0.56 percent to end at 6,830.71.

Concerns about the impact of sharply higher energy prices weighed on Wall Street, as the price of crude oil resumed the surge seen early in the week.

Crude oil prices skyrocketed again on Thursday, resuming the surge seen earlier in the week in reaction to the conflict in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery spiked $6.51 or 8.7 percent to $81.17 a barrel and has soared $14.15 or 21.1 percent so far this week.

Iran has claimed it struck a U.S. oil tanker in the northern Persian Gulf, raising fears of a wider conflict after the Islamic republic threatened to halt shipping through the vital Strait of Hormuz.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also signaled a possible longer time frame for the conflict than has previously been floated by the Trump administration, saying the war could last up to eight weeks but might be over sooner.