Malaysian Stocks-Market seen flat, building materials in focus

KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 (Reuters) - Malaysian stocks are
expected to trade in a narrow range on Tuesday after U.S stocks
fell sharply overnight, hit by renewed fears that the credit
crunch has yet to run its course.

"I expect the market to move sideways today after Wall
Street's fall on Monday," said a dealer from a local brokerage.

Sentiment would likely be cautious ahead of the
government's announcement of a new fuel subsidy plan on
Wednesday, the research head of a local bank said.

"Sentiment could be affected especially when there are no
new leads in the market," he said.

Domestic Trade Minister Shahrir Samad said on Monday the
government will unveil a new fuel subsidy scheme on Wednesday
that may lead to higher petrol and diesel prices later in the
year.

Stocks of building material makers such as Lafarge Malayan
Cement (LMCE.KL) and Cement Industries of Malaysia (CIMA)
CIMA.KL could gain after the government's move to scrap the
ceiling price of cement, the research chief said.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said on Monday the
ceiling price of cement would be scrapped from Thursday to
boost the country's building industry.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index .KLSE closed down 1
percent to 1,262.49 points on Monday as planters and banks were
sold.

The June futures index KLIM8 put the index at 1,267
points. ---------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 00:22 GMT
----------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 1,385.67 -1.05% -14.710
USD/JPY JPY= 104.37 -0.04% -0.040
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 3.973 -- 0.006
SPOT GOLD XAU= $891.50 0.22% 2.000
US CRUDE CLc1 $127.67 -0.07% -0.090
DOW JONES .DJI 12503.82 -1.06% -134.50
ASIA ADRS .BKAS 164.56 0.35% 0.58
----------------------------------------------------------------
> US Stocks-Credit concerns flare up, sending Wall St lower
[.N] > Oil rises as hurricane season start rallies natgas
[O/R] > FOREX-Yen rallies as S&P cuts US financial firms
ratings [USD/] > Bonds climb in safe-haven buying as stocks
plunge [US/] > Gold ends higher as dollar wilts, oil
recovers [GOL/] > SE Asian Stocks-Thai shares hit
10-week low [.SO] > Malaysia to reform fuel
subsidies [nKLR321487] > Shell CEO, like OPEC,
sees no oil shortages now [nSP300053] > Malaysia scraps
cement price ceiling [nSIN331604] > Bank Niaga,
Lippo merger may be completed in '09 [nJAK327728] > Malaysia
LCL says hasn't received takeover notice [nKLA007606] >
Malaysia Crest Builder wins 165.9 mln rgt job [nKLA007603]
> Malaysian Airline reviewing unprofitable routes
[nKLA007600]

RHB EYES REGIONAL ACQUISITIONS

- Malaysia's fourth largest lender, RHB Capital (RHBC.KL),
is in talks for a potential acquisition to expand its presence
in Indonesia, RHB Bank group managing director Michael Barrett
was reported as saying by The Edge Financial daily on Tuesday.

SHELL TO INVEST 10 BLN RGT IN MALAYSIA IN 5 YEARS-REPORT

- Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) will invest about 10 billion
ringgit ($3.11 billion) in its oil and gas operations in
Malaysia in the next five years, its Malaysia chairman Saw Choo
Boon was quoted as saying by Business Times on Tuesday.
($1=3.220 Malaysian Ringgit)
(Reporting by Soo Ai Peng and Liau Y-Sing)