US/MALAYSIA MARKET MORNING QUOTES

MALAYSIA MARKET

Malaysian stocks seen weaker as global economy dips

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Malaysian stocks are likely to open lower on Tuesday on growing concerns about the global economy after Japan announced it had slid into recession and Wall Street fell overnight.

 The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 2.63 percent to 8,273.58 points while the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC lost 2.29 percent to 1,482.05.

 "Our market will continue to be under some downward pressure. There is just no catalyst to drive buyers into the market in a big way.

 "There will be some nibbling here and there but the generally, investors are afraid that there will be another wave of selling," said an institutional dealer at a local bank-backed brokerage.

 Dealers said investors wanted to see the outcome of government plans to aid faltering economies before committing themselves further.

 Global markets' disappointment with the weekend meeting of the G20, leaders of major industrial economies, was further compounded by data showing Japan, the world's second-largest economy, slipping into recession in the third quarter.

 Malaysia's move to cut fuel prices for the fifth time since prices were hiked in June is unlikely to have much impact on the market, said the institutional dealer.

 Effective today, the price of petrol will drop to 2.00 ringgit per litre for the RON 97 blend from 2.15 ringgit and the cost of diesel will fall to 1.90 ringgit per litre from 2.05 ringgit.

US MARKET

Stocks Finish Lower as Recession Worries Deepen

Wall Street finished sharply lower Monday as investors pored over more signs of economic weakness, including a huge round of layoffs in the financial sector.

After a turbulent week that sent the Dow Jones industrials down nearly 340 points, investors found little solace in the latest news. Stocks zigzagged throughout the session, finally giving way to a stream of late-day selling that left the Dow Jones industrials lower by 223 points.

Investors were also nervously waiting to see if the nation's troubled automakers would get a bailout.

The Dow fell 223.73, or 2.63 percent, to 8,273.58, near its lows of the session.

Analysts believe the market is still searching for a bottom after last month's huge losses, and that the pattern of volatility will continue for some time. Woody Dorsey, president of financial forecasting firm Market Semiotics, said the market is trapped in a seesaw pattern.

"It is a very technical trade," he said. "The difficulty is there is no dominant positive or negative story that the market is operating on. ... There's nothing here that people can grab on to."

In the meantime, investors are still facing a barrage of bad economic news.

Wall Street was also disappointed by a lack of direction taken to resolve the global financial crisis at the meeting of Group of 20 international leaders in Washington this weekend. However, the leaders did pledge to keep working together to provide loans to financial institutions.