Malaysia Stock Market May Spin Its Wheels On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Thursday wrote a finish to the six-day winning streak in which it had spiked more than 35 points or 2.1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,740-point plateau and it figures to open under pressure again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft ahead of key U.S. jobs data, and on a spike in crude oil prices. The European markets were flat and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Thursday as the financials, telecoms and plantations were mostly in the red.

For the day, the index shed 11.02 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 1,737.15 after trading between 1,733.38 and 1,749.65.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened higher on Thursday but quickly slipped into the red and remained there for the balance of the day.

The Dow dropped 464.02 points or 0.85 percent to finish at 53,885.10, while the NASDAQ dipped 15.09 points or 0.06 percent to close at 16,348.35 and the S&P 500 sank 13.59 points or 0.18 percent to end at 7,709.96.

The choppy trading by the broader markets came as traders were reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report later today.

The report is expected to show employment jumped by 88,000 jobs in July after climbing by 57,000 jobs in June, and it may have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.

Ahead of the release of the monthly jobs report, the Labor Department released a report showing a slight uptick in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week.

Crude oil prices surged on Thursday following attacks on Saudi Arabian tankers in the Red Sea. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was up $2.11 or 2.81 percent at $77.33 per barrel.