Written by Joy Lee
Thursday, 04 March 2010 07:03
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian market is expected to perk up a bit on Thursday, March 4 after strong US economic data and Greece's bold plans to cut its debt support the market.
Wall Street shares closed little changed after losing early gains as the government's plans to overhaul healthcare and banking regulations sparked concerns about the potential impact on profits in key sectors.
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 9.22 points, or 0.09 percent, to 10,396.76. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.48 point, or 0.04 percent, to 1,118.79. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.11 point to 2,280.68.
At Bursa Malaysia, stocks to watch include MALAYSIAN RESOURCES CORP []oration Bhd (MRCB), PHARMANIAGA BHD [], ADVENTA BHD [] and SP SETIA BHD []. Others include Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd, JAKS Resources Bhd, BOUSTEAD HOLDINGS BHD [], MALAYSIAN BULK CARRIERS BHD [] (Maybulk) and CBS TECHNOLOGY [] BHD []
As for MRCB, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is offering RM1.50 cash apiece to take over the company. The EPF triggered the general offer (GO) following its subscription of 171.47 million MRCB rights shares late last year.
Pharmaniaga’s manufacturing licence was revoked after a routine audit carried out by the Health Ministry. Pharmaniaga said manufacturing accounted for 10% of revenue and was taking necessary steps to have its licence reissued.
Adventa’s net profit for 1QFY10 jumped 189% to RM9.35 million. The glove maker said global demand for medical gloves remained robust and the trend was expected to continue for the remaining part of the year.
Star Publications and JAKS will be carrying out a mixed residential and commercial development on the former’s piece of land with a GDV of about RM370 million.
SP Setia increased its sales target to RM2 billion for FY2010 from RM1.65 billion previously, on the back of strong sales in the first quarter.
Boustead Holdings declared a fourth interim net dividend totaling nine sen per share, bringing the total net dividends to 22.1 sen per share for its financial year ended Dec 31, 2009.
Maybulk is on the lookout for second-hand vessels for possible acquisition as the improving economic conditions signal that it’s time to start growing its fleet, It reduced dividend by half to 15 sen to conserve funds for acquisitions.
CBS secured a project worth RM2.81 million from a local bank and is expected to be completed within three months
