Technical rebounds call for prudence ..BY: By S.N. Lock ..LD: SHARE prices on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange took a tumble for the week just ended as the local bourse reacted negatively to bearish factors prevailing in the region and failed to shake off.

(From New Straits Times (Malaysia))

SHARE prices on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange took a tumble for the week just ended as the local bourse reacted negatively to bearish factors prevailing in the region and failed to shake off their negative impact.

Foremost among the bearish factors was talk of "stringent measures" to cool off China's economic activities.

Signs were there that the Chinese leadership was attempting to cool off economic activities rather than face the reality of a hard landing. Clearly, they were looking into various "stringent measures" in seeking a soft landing.

The renewed outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in China impacted the performances of travel and leisure-related companies in the regional stock markets, dealing the overall market sentiment a big blow in turn.

Just when the regional stock markets were dealing with the impact of the renewed outbreak of SARS, violence in southern Thailand added damage to the overall market sentiment on the local bourse.

There is no doubt there will not be an immediate hike in interest rates in the US. However, the reality is that the threat of a …