The Malaysian stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had given away just 3 points or o.2 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index finished just above the 1,520-point plateau, although now analysts are forecasting renewed selling pressure at the opening of trade on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild selling pressure following weak economic data from the U.S. General profit-taking also may be in order following several days of gain. Technology stocks are likely to fall under pressure, along with financial and natural gas stocks. The European markets finished firmly higher and the U.S. bourses ended in the red - and the Asian markets are expected to follow the latter lead.
The KLCI finished slightly higher on Thursday following mild gains from the financial shares, industrial issues and plantation stocks. For the day, the index gathered 4.1 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 1,523.86. Volume was 1.96 billion shares worth 1.69 billion ringgit. There were 524 gainers and 233 decliners, with 305 stocks finishing unchanged. Among the actives, D.B.E Gurney, Karyon Industries, Hibiscus Petroleum and Sime Darby all finished higher, while Maybank and Petronas Chemicals moved lower.
The lead from Wall Street calls for consolidation as disappointing housing data offset early buying interest, sending stocks lower on Thursday. Profit taking following recent strength also contributed to the downturn by the markets.
An upbeat report from the Commerce Department contributed to the early buying interest, showing a bigger than expected increase in durable goods orders in December.
However, the Labor Department reported that jobless claims rose to 377,000 in the week ended January 21 from the previous week's revised figure of 356,000, while economists had expected jobless claims to increase to 370,000.
In addition, the Commerce Department reported that new home sales fell 2.2 percent to an annual rate of 307,000 in December from the revised November rate of 314,000. The drop surprised economists, who had expected new home sales to increase to an annual rate of 320,000.
Among individual stocks, shares of AT&T (T) fell by 2.5 percent after the telecom giant reported slightly weaker than expected fourth quarter adjusted earnings despite seeing stronger than expected revenue growth.
Meanwhile, Caterpillar (CAT) rose by 2.1 percent after the construction equipment manufacturer reported stronger than expected fourth quarter earnings growth. Diversified manufacturer 3M (MMM) also ended the day higher after reporting better than expected fourth quarter results.
The major averages climbed off their worst levels of the day going into the close but still ended the session in the red. The Dow edged down 22.33 points or 0.2 percent to 12,734.63, while the NASDAQ fell 13.03 points or 0.5 percent to 2,805.28 and the S&P 500 slid 7.60 points or 0.6 percent to 1,318.45.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.