Written by Joseph Chin
Thursday, 27 May 2010 07:56
KUALA LUMPUR: Key Asian markets are expected to see volatility with downside pressure again on Thursday, May 27 after Wall Street staged yet another late-day reversal to close lower.
News suggesting China was reassessing its euro-zone debt holdings pushed investors into profit-taking mode, according to Reuters.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 69.30 points, or 0.69 percent, to 9,974.45. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 6.08 points, or 0.57 percent, to 1,067.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 15.07 points, or 0.68 percent, to 2,195.88.
At Bursa Malaysia, the FBM KLIC is down for the ninth straight day despite the stronger economic fundamentals and positive corporate earnngs growth.
The lack of clarity of global markets and uncertainty in Europe will see investors staying on the sidelines again on Thursday, especially ahead of the long weekend.
Stocks to watch include SIME DARBY BHD [], MISC BHD [], PROTON HOLDINGS BHD [] and Dreamgate Corp Bhd. Other stocks to watch are Genting PLANTATION []s Bhd, KUALA LUMPUR KEPONG BHD [], IGB Corp Bhd, BOLTON BHD [], TAN CHONG MOTOR HOLDINGS BHD [], MISC Bhd and PETRA PERDANA BHD [].
Sime Darby is scheduled to announce its fourth quarter results in the evening and concerns are whether it will make more provisions for the losses in its energy and utilities division.
MISC saw RM1.29 billion erased from its market capitalisation after its share price fell on concerns about the impact from the collision of one of its ships off the Singapore coast and the subsequent oil spill. It fell 3.44% or 29 sen to RM8.13.
Proton , which posted a net profit of RM22.8 million for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2010 (4QFY10) is expected to make an announcement about a possible collaboration with German carmaker Volkswagen AG (VW) in one to two weeks.
Proton's 4Q net profit of RM22.8 million compares to a net loss of RM322.97 million a year ago. The turnaround was aided by a research and development (R&D) grant of RM99 million from the government during the quarter under review while the carmaker also wrote off RM118 million for R&D expenditure.
Dreamgate Corp Bhd posted net losses of RM17.72 million in the first quarter ended March 31 (1Q10), as it was affected by the deferment of projects for casinos in the Philippines.
Revenue declined 12.2% to RM31.19 million from RM35.6 million a year ago. Loss per share were 1.56 sen. The 1Q losses were much higher compared with the net loss of RM2.21 million a year ago. However, the losses had been reduced compared with the RM32.72 million net loss in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2009.
Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd recorded a 55.5% increase in net profit to RM64.67 million from RM41.58 million a year ago on the back of higher sales volume driven by its core Nissan models.
It said revenue rose 25.6% year-on-year to RM870.37 million from RM692.89 million. Earnings per share (EPS) were 9.91 sen from 6.26 sen.
In Genting Plantations, its net profit for the first quarter ended Mar 31, 2010 (1QFY10) almost doubled to RM69.25 million from RM36.86 million a year ago riding on higher palm product prices and a 10% increase in fresh fruit bunches (FFB) production.
Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd’s (KLK) net profit surged 92% to RM215.93 million in the second quarter ended March 31, 2010 (2QFY10) from RM112.68 million a year ago as it benefited from favourable commodity prices and higher crop production of both fresh fruit bunches (FFB) and rubber.
A combination of a stronger ringgit and the depressed economy in some regions have prompted IGB Corp Bhd to go on an acquisition trail.
IGB is planning on expanding its hospitality division by acquiring distressed hotels overseas, said its group managing director Robert Tan.
For the first quarter ended March 31, 2010, IGB’s net profit rose 4.1% to RM35.32 million from RM33.9 million a year earlier, due to the improved performance of the group except its property development division.
IGB's revenue fell 6% to RM156.1 million from RM165.6 million due to lower contributions from its property development division.
Bolton Bhd reported a net profit of RM9.8 million for its fourth quarter (4Q) ended March 31, 2010, compared to a net loss of RM2.5 million for the previous year’s corresponding quarter. Revenue for the period rose by 68.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM74.2 million from RM43.9 million.
Petra Perdana is seeking to remove three directors from the board of its associate company PETRA ENERGY BHD [] (PEB), including PEB executive chairman Tengku Datuk Ibrahim Petra.
Property developer MAH SING GROUP BHD [] continued on its growth path, recording a net profit of RM27.88 million in the first quarter of its financial year ending Dec 31, 2010 (1QFY10) compared with RM22.63 million a year earlier.
The higher profit came on the back of a 59% rise in revenue to RM238.31 million. Basic earnings per share rose to 4.02 sen from 3.61 sen. The group did not declare any dividend for the quarter.