MALAYSIA MARKET MORNING QUOTES

Malaysian shares set to fall on Wall St

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Malaysian shares are set for a soft start on Monday following Wall Street's fall as weak U.S. job data fanned fears of a deepening recession.

 "Asian markets are likely to move downward today as the U.S. job numbers are looking really bad," said an institutional dealer from a leading Malaysian brokerage.

 "We expect profit-taking to continue in palm oil shares since crude oil prices are not going anywhere," he added.

 U.S. stocks fell on Friday after government data showed the labor market deteriorated further in December, raising investor concerns about the outlook for profits, spending and a deepening recession.

 The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI ended down 1.64 percent at 8,599.18 and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX slid 2.13 percent to 890.35.

 On Friday, Malaysia's benchmark stock index .KLSE ended up 8.6 points or 0.94 percent to 919.1 points.

 Malaysian carmaker Proton (PROT.KL) said that it may consider selling a stake to a foreign carmaker, citing interest from the U.S., Japan and India. There were talks to sell a stake in 2007, but they collapsed.