Malaysia Hot Stocks-Market seen holding, Genting eyed

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Malaysian shares may hold steady on Monday, consolidating recent gains, with the focus on gambling and leisure group Genting , after it won a bid to build and run a $3.1-billion casino in neighbouring Singapore.

"Genting will probably form a solid base. It may have a little bit of room on the upside," said one dealer.

After the market closed on Friday, the Singapore government said Genting Bhd had been picked for the city-state's second casino resort, which will feature a Universal Studios theme park and water attractions.

Genting's proposal for the resort island of Sentosa, linked to the city-state by a causeway, trumped two bigger bids from privately held Eighth Wonder and Bahamas-based Kerzner International.

On Friday, the 100-share Kuala Lumpur Composite Index closed just 0.03 percent up at 1,098.59 points, a new 9-year high.

"It should consolidate around this level," another dealer said. An immediate resistance was pegged at 1,115 points, and support at 1,083.

A spate of merger news and a palm oil price rally have been the major driving factors for the Malaysian stock market.

The December index futures contract put the index at 1,094.5 points and the January contract at 1,092 points.

U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday after data showing a healthy U.S. job market eased worries about demand from a vital export market.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.24 percent to 12,307.49 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite shed 0.40 percent to end at 2,437.36.

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