Malaysia Hot Stocks-Market seen down on U.S. woes

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Malaysian shares are
expected to fall for the third straight day on Wednesday after
heavy losses on Wall Street on a drop in U.S. retail sales and
a big loss for Citigroup (C.N).

But certain stocks, such as Tenaga Nasional (TENA.KL),
could buck the trend after the power utility reported a 22
percent jump in first-quarter profit, helped by strong demand
and currency translation gains.

Builder Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MYRS.KL) could also
be in focus after a consortium it led was issued a letter of
intent for a monorail project on the northern island of Penang.
Other partners in the consortium include Scomi Group (SCOI.KL).

"Given the weakness in the United States, the consolidation
phase we are in now will continue. But Tenaga may help to limit
the drop in the index," said a dealer with a local brokerage,
adding that he expected the key index to fall back below the
1,500-point mark.

On Tuesday, the benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index
.KLSE ended down 0.09 percent at 1,505.71 points, weighed
down by stock exchange operator Bursa Malaysia (BMYS.KL).

The January futures contract KLIF8 put the index at
1,504.

On Wall Street, all three major U.S. stock indexes ended
down more than 2 percent on Tuesday after a record quarterly
loss at top U.S. bank Citigroup and the worst showing for
retailers in five years exacerbated fears of a recession.
Retail sales fell in December and posted the weakest year since
2002.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 2.17 percent
to 12,501.11, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX 2.49
percent to 1,380.95 and the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC 2.45
percent to 2,417.59.
(Reporting by Syed Azman; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)