(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in six straight sessions, slumping more than 60 points or 3.9 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,400-point plateau although it's predicted to stop the bleeding on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat following news of bond market intervention from the Bank of England. The European and U.S. markets were up and the oversold Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The KLCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the plantations and mixed performances from the telecoms, financials and glove makers.
For the day, the index shed 8.98 points or 0.64 percent to finish at 1,401.89 after trading between 1,400.41 and 1,409.13. Volume was 2.144 billion shares worth 2.057 billion ringgit. There were 644 decliners and 233 gainers.
Among the actives, Axiata declined 1.83 percent, while CIMB Group fell 0.20 percent, Dialog Group plummeted 6.10 percent, Digi.com advanced 0.58 percent, Genting lost 0.46 percent, Genting Malaysia dropped 0.72 percent, Hartalega Holdings jumped 1.86 percent, IHH Healthcare gained 0.34 percent, INARI plunged 4.91 percent, IOI Corporation skidded 0.79 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 0.10 percent, Maybank dipped 0.12 percent, Maxis added 0.57 percent, MISC slumped 1.16 percent, Petronas Chemicals rose 0.24 percent, PPB Group surrendered 1.94 percent, Public Bank climbed 1.19 percent, RHB Capital was down 0.18 percent, Sime Darby shed 0.47 percent, Sime Darby Plantations tanked 4.45 percent, Telekom Malaysia sank 0.71 percent, Tenaga Nasional retreated 1.38 percent, Top Glove tumbled 3.28 percent and MRDIY and Press Metal were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened mixed on Wednesday but accelerated shortly thereafter to finish solidly in the green.
The Dow surged 548.75 points or 1.88 percent to finish at 29,683.74, while the NASDAQ soared 222.13 points or 2.05 percent to end at 11,051.64 and the S&P 500 jumped 71.75 points or 1.97 percent to close at 3,719.04.
The rally on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to the Bank of England's plans to begin temporarily purchasing long-dated U.K. government bonds to address dysfunction in the gilt market. In addition, the BoE postponed the selling of bonds held under the quantitative easing program to October 31.
Long-term U.K. bond yields have pulled back following the news, while U.S. treasury yields also moved sharply lower after surging in recent sessions. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note showed a steep drop after briefly topping 4.0 percent for the first time in over 12 years.
Stocks also benefited from a significant pullback by the U.S. dollar, with the U.S. dollar index tumbling by 1.2 percent. The greenback had recently reached new 20-year highs.
Crude oil prices rose sharply Wednesday after data showed a dip in U.S. crude inventories last week, and the dollar's sharp drop also contributed to the jump in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended higher by $3.65 or 4.7 percent at $82.15 a barrel.
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