Malaysian shares may trade higher

Published: 2009/05/26

MALAYSIAN shares may open higher today, though trading is likely to be peppered by profit-taking after the benchmark composite index rose yesterday, boosted by gains in key heavyweights Genting, Tenaga Nasional and Telekom Malaysia.

Genting shares were actively traded on speculation that it may enter the US and Macau gaming markets after it said last week it had purchased debt papers issued by US casino operator MGM Mirage.“The local market sentiment is still strong. People are tired of bad news.

They just want to move on and they’re hoping that we’ve seen the worst in the economic downturn,” said an institutional dealer at a local investment bank.Malaysia’s central bank is scheduled to announce its interest rate decision this evening, followed by the country’s first-quarter GDP numbers on Wednesday.

Bank Negara is widely expected to keep interest rates at a record low for the second straight month to assess the impact of past policy easings amid signs of a bottoming out in the global economy, a Reuters poll shows.

Sime Darby may see its shares come under slight pressure after it announced third-quarter earnings which were below expectations.Core net profit at Malaysia’s largest company was down 85 per cent year-on-year to RM165.7 million, hit by an 89 per cent drop in plantation earnings.US markets were closed yesterday for the Memorial Day holiday. - Reuters