The market may take a breather on Friday, Aug 20 after the run-up in recent days, pushing the FBM KLCI near the psychologically important 1,400 level.
Weighing on investors’ sentiment would be the weak overnight close on Wall Street, but the bright spot would be the TECHNOLOGY [] sector following positive data from the North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment and also from giants, Dell and HP.
Intel’s US$7.7 billion acquisition for security software maker McAfee Inc would also spur interest in the tech industry.
The acquisition of McAfee is Intel’s largest-ever acquisition to bolster the appeal of its chips as it tries to expand from PCs into the burgeoning market for Web-connected gadgets.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 144.33 points, or 1.39 percent, at 10,271.21. The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 18.53 points, or 1.69 percent, at 1,075.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 36.75 points, or 1.66 percent, at 2,178.95.
Reuters reported investors fled for the safety of U.S. Treasuries and gold, sending the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond to its lowest level since April 2009 and driving gold to a seven-week high in New York.
\New U.S. claims for first-time jobless benefits scaled a nine-month high last week, while the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported an unexpected contraction in manufacturing in the Mid-Atlantic region.
At Bursa Malaysia, the FBM KLCI closed higher on Thursday as it hit a new 31-month high, boosted by gains in finance stocks. The 30-stock index closed at 1,392.56.
Stocks to watch on Friday include MPI and Unisem and related semiconductor companies like Eng Teknologi after the positive outlook for the sector.
Other stocks which could be in focus are MALAYAN BANKING BHD [], ahead of its earnings after market close, HONG LEONG BANK BHD [], PLUS EXPRESSWAYS BHD [], YTL Corporation Bhd, MISC BHD [] and DIALOG GROUP BHD []
Hong Leong Bank’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended June 30,2010 rose 51% to RM301.1 million from RM199.36 million a year ago, due mainly to domestic operations and profit from Chengdu Bank.
Revenue for the quarter rose to RM517.8 million from RM493.61 million last year, while earnings per share were 20.77 sen.
Hong Leong Bank proposed a final gross dividend of 15 sen per share.
PLUS’ net profit for2Q ended June 30, 2010 rose to RM319.56 million from RM281.39 million a year ago, due mainly to higher toll collection.
PLUS declared an interim single tier dividend of 7.5 sen per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2010
YTL Corp net profit for 4Q ended June 30, 2010 surged to RM118.25 million from RM47.32 million on the back of a 30.4% jump in revenue to RM4.62 billion.
For the financial year ended June 30, YTL’s net profit rose to RM872.56 million on the back of revenue RM16.41 billion.
The company proposed a first and final gross dividend of ten sen per share.
MISC’s net profit for1Q ended June 30,2010 rose to RM427.98 million from RM233.45 million a year ago, due mainly from improved performance in the restructured liner business and increased profitability in heavy engineering business.
Revenue for the quarter, however, was lower at RM3.27 billion from RM3.89 billion a year ago.
On its prospects for the current year, MISC said it continued to see improvements in freight rates which had translated into higher profitability for its shipping segments.
Dialog’s net profit for the FY ended June 30, 2010 rose more than 20% to RM116.11 million from RM91.94 million a year ago, while its revenue increased to RM1.14 billion from RM`1.1 billion last year.
The company proposed a final gross dividend of 1.8 sen per share.