Malaysia Stock Market May Give Up Support At 1,700 Points

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market headed south again on Thursday, one day after ending the two-day slide in which it had slumped more than 20 points or 1.1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,710-point plateau and it's expected to open under water again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on concerns over the conflict in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the telecoms and mixed performances from the financials, plantations and industrials.

For the day, the index slipped 5.79 points or 0.34 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,710.89 after peaking at 1,719.89. Among the actives, AMMB Holdings dropped 0.30 percent, while Axiata declined 1.32 percent, Celcomdigi tanked 2.61 percent, CIMB Group and Petronas Gas both contracted 1.01 percent, Gamuda plummeted 4.33 percent, IHH Healthcare added 0.33 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rallied 2.76 percent, Maxis tumbled 2.48 percent, MISC surged 8.02 percent, MRDIY plunged 3.03 percent, Petronas Chemicals soared 6.23 percent, Petronas Dagangan vaulted 1.48 percent, PPB Group lost 0.17 percent, Press Metal jumped 1.72 percent, Public Bank stumbled 2.23 percent, QL Resources skidded 0.53 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.35 percent, SD Guthrie climbed 0.86 percent, Sunway shed 0.19 percent, Telekom Malaysia fell 0.14 percent, Tenaga Nasional sank 0.28 percent, YTL Corporation retreated 1.79 percent, YTL Power slumped 0.69 percent and 99 Speed Mart Retail, Nestle Malaysia, Sime Darby, IOI Corporation and Maybank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is bleak as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and continued to trend sharply lower as the day progressed, ending at session lows.

The Dow tumbled 469.38 points or 1.01 percent to finish at 45,960.11, while the NASDAQ plummeted 521.75 points or 2.38 percent to close at 21,408.08 and the S&P 500 slumped 114.74 points or 1.74 percent to end at 6,477.16.

The sell-off on Wall Street extended the see-saw trend seen over the past few sessions, as traders reacted to continued volatility by the price of crude oil.

Crude prices skyrocketed Thursday as the U.S.-Iran standoff over the 15-point peace proposal deepens the Middle East conflict. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up $4.51 or 4.99 percent at $94.83 per barrel.

Concerns about further widening of the conflict also weighed on the markets after several Gulf countries issued a joint statement condemning Iran's "criminal" attacks on their energy infrastructure.