ZLBT's Pre-Market Morning Round-up

Malaysian Shares May Extend Gains
The Malaysian stock market has finished higher now in five straight sessions, gathering more than 20 points or 1.2 percent en route to another fresh record closing high. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index finished just below the 1,530-point plateau, and now investors are expecting the market to open higher once again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is modestly positive as investors look to the G20 summit in South Korea for guidance. Gold stocks are likely to provide support, as are financials, oil companies and property stocks. The European markets ended lower and the U.S. bourses ended higher - and the Asian markets are mostly expected to tick higher.

The KLCI finished barely higher on Wednesday as gains from the industrials were pared by weakness from the financial shares and plantations.

For the day, the index added 1.48 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 1,528.01 after trading between 1,523.92 and 1,531.99. Volume was 1.74 billion shares worth 2.27 billion ringgit. There were 440 gainers and 420 decliners, with 268 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Scomi Group and Maxis ended higher, while Maybank, Sime Darby and Genting finished lower.

ECONOMICS 1MALAYSIA
n economic news, Malaysian industrial output climbed 5.6 percent year-on-year in September, official data showed on Wednesday. That was faster than the 3.8 percent increase seen in August and also higher than expectations for a 4.8 percent rise.

Manufacturing increased 7.6 percent in September, while mining and electricity output increased 1.7 percent and 3.1 percent respectively. Month-on-month, industrial production fell 0.8 percent. Production increased 4.3 percent in the September quarter compared to the same period in 2009.

Dow Sees Green After Rollercoastal Ride
Wall Street puts forth an optimistic lead as stocks moved mostly higher on Wednesday, with the markets rebounding from some early weakness. Upbeat employment data may have generated some optimism that stocks can extend the upward move seen in recent weeks.

The early weakness came as traders looked to cash in on the recent strength in the markets, although selling pressure was relatively subdued following the release of some upbeat economic data.

Before the start of trading, the Labor Department said jobless claims fell to 435,000 in the week ended November 6th from the previous week's revised figure of 459,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to slip to 450,000 from the 457,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The less volatile four-week moving average also slipped to 446,500 from the previous week's revised average of 456,500, falling to its lowest level since September of 2008.

A separate report from the Commerce Department showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed by much more than expected in the month of September, as the value of exports rose and the value of imports fell. The trade deficit narrowed to $44.0 billion in September from a revised $46.5 billion in August. Economists had been expecting the deficit to edge down to $46.2 billion from the $46.3 billion originally reported for the previous month.

On the earnings front, auto giant General Motors reported a $2 billion profit in the third quarter compared to a loss of $908 million in the year-ago quarter. The results come as the company prepares for public stock offering next week.

Some buying interest was generated as the Federal Reserve revealed the details of the first phase of its new quantitative easing program. The New York Fed plans to purchase approximately $105 billion in treasuries over the next month. This includes $75 billion under the Fed's expanded $600 billion asset purchase program announced last Wednesday. The remaining $30 billion comes as the Fed is maintaining its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from securities holdings.

While the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 closed firmly in positive territory, the Dow posted a relatively modest gain. The Dow edged up 10.29 points or 0.1 percent to 11,357.04, while the NASDAQ advanced 15.80 points or 0.6 percent to 2,578.78 and the S&P 500 rose 5.31 points or 0.4 percent to 1,218.71.

HAPPY TRADING