Malaysian bourse likely to take a breather (BT)

MALAYSIAN shares are expected to open lower today following Wall Street’s fall overnight.

"We will see a pullback today but I don’t think it’s going to be a steep fall,” said an institutional dealer from a bank-backed brokerage.

“I expect the benchmark index to hover between 980 points and 1,020 points. The index has gone back to the level before the collapse of Lehman Brothers, so it would be good to take a breather now,” he added.

US stocks tumbled yesterday as a gloomy retail sales report revived recent anxiety about the economy’s struggle and caused a broad sell-off that accelerated late in the session. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 184.22 points, or 2.18 per cent, to 8,284.89. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 24.43 points, or 2.69 per cent, to 883.92. The Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 51.73 points, or 3.01 percent, to 1,664.19. - Reuters