BURSA MALAYSIA >>> Pre-opening Market Outlook

KL Stocks May Tick Slightly Higher
The Malaysian stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last five trading days, since the end of the three-day losing streak in which it had declined more than 15 points or 1.1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index remained just above the 1,490-point plateau, and now analysts are forecasting a mildly positive open on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mildly positive on solid earnings and economic news. Technology stocks are expected to provide support, along with airlines and gold miners - although the financials may come under pressure. The European and U.S. markets finished higher on Monday, and the Asian bourses are predicted to follow suit.

The KLCI finished flat on Monday, nudged slightly higher by gains from the financial shares, industrial issues and plantation stocks.

For the day, the index added 0.80 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 1,491.44 after trading between 1,495.74 and 1,491.25. Volume was 1.131 billion shares worth 1.47 billion ringgit. There were 511 gainers and 268 decliners.
Among the actives, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, Public Bank, Maybank, CIMB and Sime Darby all finished higher, while Genting, Axiata and RHB Capital ended lower.

Wall Street >>> Dollar-Fueled Rally Loses Steam

Foreclosure Fears Limit Bulls' Momentum

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as stocks saw modest gains to open the week on Monday, with the dollar weakening in the wake of comments from the G20 indicating little willingness of other nations to participate in devaluing their currencies.

Buying interest in the session came as the world's finance ministers announced an avoidance of competitive currency devaluation over the weekend, leading to substantial dollar weakness. The greenback hit a fresh 15-year low against the yen while also sliding against the euro and the British pound.

Amid a relatively light day on the U.S. economic calendar, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales jumped 10.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.53 million in September from a downwardly revised 4.12 million in August.

Economists had expected sales to rise to an annual rate of 4.25 million from the 4.13 million originally reported for the previous month. While existing home sales rose for the second consecutive month, the annual rate remains 19.1 percent below the 5.60 million-unit pace seen in September of 2009.

In other news regarding the housing sector, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke revealed that reviews of foreclosure practices by major banks will be unveiled in November. The report is expected to gauge the effect of errors on the real estate market and major financial institutions. The housing market remains weak and high levels of mortgage distress may well persist for some time to come, Bernanke also said.

On the earnings front, Texas Instruments Inc. said Monday after the markets closed that its third quarter profit rose 60 percent from last year, helped by higher revenue and improved margins amid growth in all of its business segments. The company's quarterly earnings per share also came in above analysts' expectations as did its quarterly revenue. The world's second largest maker of mobile phone chips reported net income for the third quarter of $859 million or $0.71 per share, compared to $538 million or $0.42 per share for the year-ago quarter.

The major averages all saw some downside in late-session dealing but still managed to close at their best levels in nearly six months. The Dow gained 31.49 points or 0.3 percent to close at 11,164.05, the NASDAQ advanced by 11.46 points or 0.5 percent to 2,490.85 and the S&P 500 rose by 2.54 points or 0.2 percent to end at 1,185.62.

Crude VS Dollar >>> Black Gold Score This Round

Crude oil futures finished in the black today, as foreign-currency holders exploited the U.S. dollar's G-20-induced drop. In addition, black gold accelerated its late-session gains amid upbeat comments from across the pond, with Greek's central bank opining that the worst was over for the country's financial institutions. Against this backdrop, crude oil for December delivery tacked on 83 cents, or 1%, to end at $82.52 per barrel.

ANALYST QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It’s all the dollar. If the dollar goes down, the market goes up. It’s as simple as that,”
NYSE analyst Irwin Taylor Head of Research Monex Equities

HAPPY TRADING