US/MALAYSIA MARKET MORNING QUOTES

MALAYSIA MARKET

Malaysian stocks seen inching up on Wall St gains

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Malaysian stocks may edge up slightly on Wednesday after U.S. stocks ended in positive territory overnight after a late rally, but dealers said gains were likely to be restricted amid concerns of weak earnings.

 U.S. stocks rallied after computer marker Hewlett-Packard defied the economic gloom with a strong result, offsetting a fall in shares of Citigroup, the second largest bank in the United States, to a 13-year low.

 "The market is likely to be rangebound and trade between 880 and 900 points, with an upward bias," a dealer at a local brokerage house said.

 While the gains in the U.S. will help the Malaysian market, investor sentiment was dampened by the weak corporate results, dealers said.

 Top lenders Maybank and Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings have already reported falls in profits, with many companies set to release their earnings over the next

US MARKET

Wall Street Pulls off Final-Hour Rebound

Wall Street rebounded Tuesday in another turbulent session, as investors rushed back into the market after the Standard & Poor's 500 index tested a 2003 low.

The market, which had been down four of the past five sessions, has been volatile amid worries about how long a recession might be. That's driven many retail investors to the sidelines, while big institutional traders like hedge funds keep major stock indexes vacillating.

The Labor Department reported that wholesale prices plunged a record amount in October, a drop that could indicate a rising threat of deflation. Meanwhile, homebuilders' confidence in a near-term housing recovery sank to a new all-time low this month, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index. NAHB Chairman Sandy Dunn said the report "shows that we are in a crisis situation."

Analysts said the market continues to search for a much-elusive bottom, and could yet again retest lows. The major indexes continued to attempt some sort of recovery from October's devastating losses.

"We're going to need more strength from here for a period of time to develop a convincing story that the market has bottomed," said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist at RidgeWorth Investments.

The Dow ended up 151.17, or 1.83 percent, to 8,424.75.

"There is no enthusiasm on the buy side right now," said Joe Keetle, senior wealth manager at Dawson Wealth Management. "You got a little spurt of it today because Hewlett-Packard's earnings were good and their outlook was good."