US/MALAYSIA MARKET MORNING QUOTES

Malaysian stocks expected to stay soft

MALAYSIAN shares are seen rangebound today as investors are likely to stay cautious amid a weak economic outlook and falling global markets.
“The cautiousness of the investors is visible from the thin turnover that we saw yesterday, and with the US markets ending lower overnight, the Malaysian market is also expected to stay soft and move in a narrow band,” said a local brokerage dealer.
The main US indexes reversed their gains and broke a four-day winning streak to close slightly lower after American Express said the number of people struggling to pay credit card bills was rising.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell a modest 7.01 points (0.10 per cent) to close at 7,216.97 after logging a stunning nine per cent rise last week from 12-year lows.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 27.48 points (1.92 per cent) to 1,404.02 and the broad-market Standard & Poor’s 500 index shed 2.66 points (0.35 per cent) to 753.89 as investors of mostly financial stocks locked in profits. - Reuters

Stocks Give up Gains After 4-Day Rally

Wall Street's big rally fizzled — and maybe that's OK.

Analysts said Monday's pullback after a four-session surge didn't necessarily signal that traders were reconsidering their newfound optimism about financial stocks, a main driver behind last week's advance.

Stocks rose for much of the session as investors snapped up hard-hit financial shares. Comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and reassuring news from a British bank eased some worries about the overall economy and prospects for financial companies struggling with bad debt.

Bernanke said Sunday the recession would probably end this year if the government's efforts to revive the banking industry succeed.

On Monday, the Dow slipped 7.01, or 0.1 percent, to 7,216.97. The blue chips rose as much as 169 points during the session.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.66, or 0.4 percent, to 753.89, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 27.48, or 1.9 percent, to 1,404.02.