ZLBT Morning Viewd >>> Bursa Malaysia / Wall Street

Malaysian Stocks May Add To Rebound

The Malaysian stock market on Monday snapped the five-day losing streak in which it had declined more than 20 points or 1.4 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index finished just below the 1,515-point plateau, although now traders are looking for continued strength when the market kicks off trade on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic thanks to a solid rebound in the commodities markets following last week's heavy selling. The upside may be limited, however, by renewed debt concerns from Greece. The European markets finished lower and the U.S. bourses were higher, and the Asian markets generally figure to tick slightly higher.
The KLCI finished slightly higher on Monday on gains from the property stocks, financials and plantations.
For the day, the index added 3.91 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 1,519.41 after trading between 1,519.16 and 1,507.64. Volume was 716.24 million shares worth 1.075 billion ringgit. There were 394 decliners and 305 gainers.
Among the actives, Digi.com, Axiata and IOI Corporation all finished higher, while Tenaga Nasional, YTL, Petronas Chemical and Sime Darby ended lower.

DJIA Rises Along With Commpdities Rebound

The lead from Wall Street is fairly positive as stocks moved mostly higher on Monday, with commodity prices rebounding following last week's sell-off. The markets benefited from considerable strength among resource stocks, which had helped to lead the way lower last week.

The major averages ended the session off their best levels of the day but still posted moderate gains. The Dow rose by 45.94 points or 0.4 percent to 12,684.68, the NASDAQ climbed 15.69 points or 0.6 percent to 2,843.25 and the S&P 500 advanced 6.09 points or 0.5 percent to 1,346.29.

The strength in the markets was largely due to gains by resource stocks, which rebounded along with commodities prices. Energy stocks posted particularly strong gains on the day amid a sharp rise by the price of crude oil. Crude for June delivery surged up by $5.37 to $102.5 a barrel after plummeting by nearly 15 percent last week to a nearly two-month closing low of $97.18 a barrel. The price of gold also showed a notable rebound, with gold for June delivery rising by $11.60 to $1,503.20 an ounce.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off news that Standard & Poor's has lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on Greece to B from BB-.

Among individual stocks, shares of Dollar Thrifty (DTG) surged up by 13.8 percent on news that Hertz Global (HTZ) has raised its offer to acquire the car rental company in an effort to outbid rival Avis Budget Group (CAR). Hertz said it has offered to acquire Dollar Thrifty for $72 per share, consisting of $57.60 in cash and 0.8546 shares of Hertz. The company claimed that its offer represents a 24 percent premium to the offer made by Avis.

Fast food giant McDonald's (MCD) also closed higher after the company said that its global comparable store sales for April rose 6 percent, faster than the 4.9 percent increase in the year-ago period. Comparable sales in the U.S. rose by 4 percent.

On the other hand, Tyson Foods (TSN) fell by 6 percent after reporting second quarter earnings of $0.42 per share, flat with last year and a penny below analyst estimates. The meat producer said its sales for the quarter rose to $8 billion, exceeding the $7.55 billion consensus estimate. Tyson also said it expects 2011 sales to exceed $32 billion, mostly due to price increases. Analysts had expected revenues for the year of $31.0 billion.

HAPPY TRADING