Monday maybe should hantam all MAXIS call warrant, not my money lah so can take the maximum risk.
Written by Joseph Chin
Saturday, 27 February 2010 17:12
KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips on Bursa Malaysia are expected to start off the new month of March on a more optimistic outlook after the recent strong set of corporate earnings while upside would be underpinned by a stronger-than-expected economic recovery.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average edged up 4.23 points, or 0.04 percent, to end at 10,325.26. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 1.55 points, or 0.14 percent, to 1,104.49. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 4.04 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,238.26.
The Dow and the S&P 500 saw their best monthly gains since November, while the Nasdaq locked in its best advance since December.
At Bursa Malaysia, February was indeed a roller coaster month as sentiment was weighed down by external events including China's move to tighten liquidity and Greece's debts. However, the FBM KLCI managed to eke out some gains, closing up just 11 points to end at 1,270 while the market capitalisation rose RM14 billion to RM1,015 billion from RM1,001 billion at end January.
Stocks to watch include GENTING BHD [], AIRASIA BHD [], Maxis Bhd following their strong earnings and upside. At the ALLIANCE FINANCIAL GROUP BHD [], there should be some positive interest after the bank and its chief executive officer Datuk Bridget Lai reached an amicable settlement of their dispute.
Genting Bhd reported earnings of RM245.4 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2009, a turnaround from the net loss of RM120.78 million a year ago. Profit before tax was RM585.7 million in 4Q compared with a loss of RM108.9 million a year ago. The loss was due mainly to the Genting Malaysia group’s impairment loss of RM781.5 million on its investment in Genting Hong Kong.
AirAsia posted net profit of RM76.65 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2009, a turnaround from the net loss of RM201.73 million a year ago, expected it to benefited from passenger growth and ancillary income.
Group CEO Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes iis upbeat about its prospects in 2010 following early signs the global economy is stabilising while the benefits are already visible in the aviation industry.
He said it had identified nine new routes to be launched and this will support passenger growth of 11%-14% in 2010. Based on the forward booking trend, the underlying passenger demand in the first quarter 2010 is positive.
Meanwhile, Maxis Bhd reported earnings of RM503 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2009 on the back of RM2.21 billion in revenue, boosted by higher subscriptions.
The telco giant’s earnings per share were nine sen and it declared both an interim dividend and proposed a final dividend of six sen and three sen, respectively – totaling RM675 million.
In addition to the RM450 million paid in the third quarter, the total dividends for FYE 2009 post Maxis’ listing on Nov 19 last year was RM1.125 billion.For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2009, total earnings were RM1.578 billion on the back of RM7.611 billion in revenue.