Malaysia Hot Stocks-Market seen rangebound, planters in focus
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Malaysian shares are likely to make little headway in thin trade on Thursday, but plantation stocks should shine after palm-oil prices hit a new record high, a dealer and an analyst said.
Planters such as Sime Darby (SIME.KL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), IOI Corp (IOIB.KL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), KL Kepong (KLKK.KL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Asiatic Development (ASIA.KL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) are expected to rise after palm-oil prices hit a high of 3,087 ringgit ($925) a tonne on Wednesday, said a dealer with a foreign brokerage.
Malaysia is one of the world's largest producers of crude palm oil. The stock market's plantation index has gained 81 percent this year.
The broader market was expected to be rangebound with many investors away for the year-end holidays.
"But there could be a bit of window dressing on key stocks and this would provide some stability to the market," said the research chief with a local bank.
"I expect the market to be flat to marginally up."
The dealer pegged support for the main share index at 1,410 points.
On Wednesday, the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index .KLSE inched up 0.1 percent to end at 1,424.02. The December futures contract KLIZ7 and the January contract KLIF8 both put the index at 1,424.5.
U.S. stocks were little changed on Wednesday after Target Inc (TGT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) cut its sales forecast and hurt retail shares, offsetting gains in major energy firms as oil hit a one-month high.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 0.02 percent at 13,551.69. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX rose 0.08 percent to 1,497.66. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 0.40 percent to 2,724.41. (Reporting by Liau Y-Sing, editing by Mark Bendeich)
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