KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Malaysian shares are
expected to drop on Friday, ending a five-day rally, after the
assassination of Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and
fresh concerns about the U.S. economy drove Wall Street lower.
"The news has put some fears in regional markets," said one
dealer at a local brokerage. "We'll see some pull-back here in
the morning."
But palm oil stocks such as Sime Darby (SIME.KL) and IOI
Corp (IOIB.KL) could remain resilient after palm-oil prices hit
a new high. They have risen more than 55 percent so far this
year.
Turmoil in Pakistan, a major buyer of Malaysian palm oil,
is unlikely to severely curtail Pakistani demand for the edible
oil, another dealer said.
On Thursday, the benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index
.KLSE rose 1 percent to 1,437.82 points. Dealers said the
index would be supported at around 1,410.
The December futures contract KLIZ7 put the index at
1,438.5 and the January contract KLIF8 at 1,441.5.
U.S. stocks dropped on Thursday as Bhutto's assassination
sparked fears of global unrest, while an analyst warning of
larger mortgage-related write-offs pressured financial shares.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI sank 192.08 points,
or 1.42 percent, to 13,359.61. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
.SPX fell 1.43 percent to 1,476.27 and the Nasdaq Composite
Index .IXIC 1.75 percent to 2,676.79.
(Reporting by Jalil Hamid, editing by Mark Bendeich)
