Malaysia Hot Stocks-Market to tread water, politics weigh

KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 (Reuters) - Malaysian shares are
likely to trade within a narrow range on Monday, with investors
loath to take large positions on worries that domestic
political tensions could escalate, analysts said.

Planters such as Hap Seng (HAPP.KL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and IJM Plantations
(IJMP.KL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) could be in focus amid volatile crude palm oil
prices, the research chief of a local bank said.

Maybank (MBBM.KL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) could also be active after a newspaper
reported over the weekend the country's largest lender could
buy a strategic stake in Pakistan's MCB Bank (MCB.KA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

The broader market was expected to be little changed, as
investors tread cautiously, analysts said.

"The market will be quite range-bound due to political
noises," said the research head of another local bank, pegging
support for the main share index at 1,200 points and resistance
at 1,240.

On Friday, the benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index
.KLSE edged down 0.3 percent to 1,221.98.

The April futures index KLIJ8 put the index at 1,220.0
points.

Investors have been unnerved by domestic political
uncertainties as calls grow for Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi to resign after the ruling coalition put in its worst
showing in last month's poll.

Abdullah's National Front, or Barisan Nasional, coalition
ceded five of the country's 13 states to the opposition, and
secured just a simple majority in parliament.

U.S. stocks were little changed on Friday as nagging fears
about more bank losses and the biggest monthly decline in the
job market in five years overshadowed earlier optimism that the
credit crisis may be easing.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI> fell 0.13 percent to
end at 12,609.42. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX> was up
0.08 percent at 1,370.40. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC>
rose 0.32 percent at 2,370.98.
(Reporting by Liau Y-Sing)