Malaysia Bourse May Extend Friday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Friday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had rallied more than 35 points or 2 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,700-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on continuing concerns over the war in the Middle East and the resulting surge in oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow to the downside.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the plantations and mixed performances from the industrials and financials.

For the day, the index shed 12.16 points or 0.71 percent to finish at 1,698.85 after trading between 1,696.04 and 1,709.05. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail rallied 1.42 percent, while AMMB Holdings rose 0.15 percent, Axiata stumbled 2.19 percent, CIMB Group perked 0.13 percent, IHH Healthcare plunged 2.97 percent, IOI Corporation dropped 0.75 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 0.20 percent, Maxis shed 0.52 percent, Maybank declined 1.05 percent, MISC fell 0.36 percent, Nestle Malaysia tumbled 1.63 percent, Petronas Chemicals surged 3.26 percent, Petronas Dagangan plummeted 3.10 percent, Petronas Gas added 0.57 percent, PPB Group slipped 0.35 percent, Press Metal gained 0.40 percent, Public Bank lost 0.42 percent, QL Resources tanked 2.65 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.24 percent, Sime Darby skidded 0.85 percent, SD Guthrie slumped 0.87 percent, Sunway sank 0.58 percent, Tenaga Nasional retreated 1.39 percent, YTL Corporation advanced 0.60 percent, YTL Power jumped 1.44 percent and Celcomdigi, Telekom Malaysia, Gamuda and MRDIY were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened higher on Friday but turned lower as the day progressed, slipping into the red and finishing at session lows.

The Dow dropped 119.43 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 46,558.47, while the NASDAQ tumbled 206.64 points or 0.93 percent to close at 22,105.36 and the S&P 500 sank 40.43 points or 0.61 percent to end at 6,632.19. For the week, the Dow plunged 2.0 percent, the S&P dropped 1.6 percent and the NASDAQ slumped 1.3 percent.

The pullback seen over the course of the session came as trading continued to be largely driven by reaction to crude oil prices.

Stocks initially benefited from a pullback by the price of crude oil, with crude for April delivery plunging by as much as 3.9 percent after skyrocketing over the course of the two previous sessions.

Crude oil prices again showed a substantial move to the upside on Friday as uncertainty prevails about the timeline for ending the war. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was up $3.35 or 3.50 percent at $98.08 per barrel.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said the annual rate of consumer price growth unexpectedly slowed in January. A separate report from the Commerce Department showed U.S. economic growth slowed much more than estimated in the fourth quarter of 2025.