(RTTNews) – The Malaysian stock market has finished lower in five consecutive sessions, losing more than 40 points or 2.6% along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index is now just below the 1,530-point plateau and is expected to open under pressure again on Monday.

The global forecast for Asian markets is weak on continued fears over the interest rate outlook, with oil and technology stocks expected to lead lower. European and American markets were down and Asian exchanges are expected to open similarly.

The KLCI ended barely lower on Friday after mixed performances from financials, telecoms, plantations and glove makers.

For the day, the index lost 0.69 points or 0.05% to end at 1,527.06 after trading between 1,520.80 and 1,531.25. The volume was 2.637 billion shares worth 1.983 billion ringgit. There were 575 rejections and 334 winners.

Among assets, Axiata lost 0.27%, while CIMB Group collected 0.95%, Dialog Group fell 4.07%, Digi.com climbed 1.03%, Genting improved by 0.66%, Genting Malaysia added 0.35%, Hartalega Holdings jumped 1.05%, IHH Healthcare rose 0.31%. percent, INARI fell 1.52 percent, IOI Corporation advanced 0.78 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell 0.09 percent, Maxis sank 0.46 percent, MISC fell 0.14 percent, MRDIY fell 1.37 percent, Petronas Chemicals slipped 0.67 percent, PPB Group rose 0.12 percent, Press Metal rose 0.65 percent, Bank public rose 0.24%, RHB Capital fell 1.04%, Sime Darby fell 0.45%, Sime Darby Plantations lost 0.25%, Telekom Malaysia fell 1.36%, Tenaga Nasional gained 0.33%, Top Glove plunged 1.81% and Maybank and Nestle were unchanged.

Wall Street’s advance is negative as major US markets were down again on Friday, hugging both sides of the unchanged line in the morning before plummeting in the afternoon to end in the red for the fourth consecutive session.

For the day, the Dow fell 450.02 points or 1.30% to end at 34,265.37, while the NASDAQ plunged 385.10 points or 2.72% to close at 13,768.92 and the S&P 500 fell 84.79 points or 1.89% to end at 4,397.94.

The particularly sharp decline in NASDAQ was fueled by a weak earnings report from Netflix, which set off a cascade of selling pressure in other markets.

Soaring bond prices also pushed markets lower, heightening interest rate concerns; most analysts believe that a rate hike of at least 25 basis points by the FOMC is imminent in March.

Oil prices fell to end lower on Friday for the second straight session, although they rallied from session lows. Crude’s correction continued after hitting a seven-year high earlier in the week on demand optimism and near-term supply disruptions. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.86% to $84.81 a barrel after falling 3.2% earlier.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.