In the U.S, Airline, oil service, steel, networking and brokerage sector stocks showed a substantial move to the downside while housing stocks moved sharply higher on the day. In Malaysia, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) stood at 1,466.88, down from Tuesday’s closing of 1,471.55. Active gainers include Maybank, CIMB, IHH Healthcare, while Public Bank, Petronas Chemicals and TNB slid.
Of the actives, AHB climbed six sen to 18.5 sen, Solution Group gained 2.5 sen to 34.5 sen, Borneo Oil and Dataprep were flat at two sen and 31 sen, respectively, and Advance Synergy shed one sen to 17.5 sen.
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower open on Wednesday, with stocks likely to extend the sell-off seen over the two previous sessions.
Lingering concerns about the outlook for interest rates and the likelihood of a recession are likely to continue to weigh on Wall Street.
The Fed still seems poised to slow the pace of interest rate hikes next week, but recent upbeat economic data has raised concerns about how much further the central bank will raise rates at future meetings.
Traders are likely to pay close attention to the Fed’s accompanying statement, although a lot of key data will be released before the next meeting in late January/early February.
The recent selling on Wall Street partly reflects worries the Fed will be need to push the economy into a prolonged recession in order to bring inflation down close to its 2 percent target.
Stocks moved sharply lower during trading on Tuesday, extending the sell-off seen over the course of Monday’s session. The major averages all showed significant moves to the downside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting a particularly steep loss.
The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but remained firmly negative. The Dow slumped 350.76 points or 1.0 percent to 33,596.34, the Nasdaq plunged 225.05 points or 2.0 percent to 11,014.89 and the S&P 500 tumbled 57.58 points or 1.4 percent to 3,941.26.
The extended sell-off on Wall Street reflected lingering concerns about the outlook for interest rates ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting.
In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing the U.S. trade deficit widened in the month of October.
The report said the trade deficit widened to $78.2 billion in October from a revised $74.1 billion in September. Economists had expected the trade deficit to increase to $79.1 billion from the $73.3 billion originally reported for the previous month.
The wider trade deficit came as the value of exports slid by 0.7 percent to $256.6 billion, while the value of imports climbed by 0.6 percent to $334.8 billion.
Oil stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session, with another steep drop by the price of crude oil weighing the sector. The NYSE Arca Oil Index tumbled by 2.6 percent to its lowest closing level in well over a month.
Substantial weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.4 percent nosedive by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Networking stocks also showed a significant move to the downside, dragging the NYSE Arca Networking Index down 2.0 percent.
Biotechnology, retail and banking stocks also saw considerable weakness on the day, while steel and utilities stocks bucked the downtrend.
