Written by Darlene Liew
Wednesday, 14 April 2010 07:47
KUALA LUMPUR: Markets are expected to be cautious on Wednesday, April 14 after the profit-taking activities in key regional markets including Bursa Malaysia, with the FBM KLCI futures closing in the red the previous day.
On Wall Street, US stocks posted marginal gains on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to earnings from big banks and tech bellwethers, even as disappointing revenue from Alcoa Inc acted as a headwind, according to Reuters.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 13 points, or 0.12 percent, at 11,019.42. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ended up 0.81 point, or 0.07 percent, at 1,197.29. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 8.12 points, or 0.33 percent, at 2,465.99.
After the market closed, chipmaker and Dow component Intel Corp reported a stronger-than-expected first-quarter profit, sending its shares 3.8 percent higher to $23.63 in extended-hours trading
Stocks to watch include MALAYSIAN RESOURCES CORP []oration Bhd (MRCB), TRANSMILE GROUP BHD [], glove makers, MPI and Unisem.
Other stocks which will be in focus include CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, KYM HOLDINGS BHD [] and auto companies, while DiGi.com and Green Packet could see some interest following fresh developments.
The Employees Provident Fund Board (EPF) has allowed its conditional takeover offer of CONSTRUCTION [] and property development firm Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) to lapse after receiving acceptances amounting to only 3.34% comprising 45.64 million shares.
The EPF said its RM1.50 per share offer had failed to meet the acceptance condition and it would not extend the offer period, which had lapsed at 5pm on Tuesday.
As of the closing date, EPF held only 41.948% of MRCB after receiving the acceptances pursuant to the offer, far short of the 50% plus one share condition required for it to be successful. As at the posting of the offer document, EPF held 38.61% comprising 527.93 million shares in MRCB.
The offer made on March 3 was conditional on receiving acceptances that would result in it holding more than 50% of MRCB.
Transmile could come under pressure on a news report the EPF is seeking to recover RM50 million owed to it by the beleaguered air cargo transporter. The report said Transmile owed RM500 million.
Glove makers, which had come under selling pressure in recent days after the sector was de-rated, could stabilize on bargain hunting. Concerns about the resurgence of the AH1N1 virus could prop up the stocks.
MPI and Unisem and related chip-equipment makers including Eng Tek, KESM, Globetronics could see some trading activity, underpinned by Intel Corp’s stronger-than-expected first-quarter profit.
AmanahRaya Real Estate Investment Trust (ARREIT) posted a net income of RM8.67 million in its first quarter (1Q) ended March 31, 2010, compared with RM7.76 million a year earlier.
First quarter revenue increased to RM12.22 million from RM11.47 million previously while earnings per unit improved to 2.01 sen from 1.8 sen. A provision was made to distribute 95% of the realised net income for the financial period amounting to RM8.02 million, inclusive of undistributed income from the previous year, representing 1.86 sen per unit.
CIMB received Bursa Malaysia’s nod for its dual listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) in addition to Malaysia. The corporate exercise included the listing and quotation of up to 100 million new CIMB shares to be issued in relation to the proposed SET listing.
Bursa Malaysia also approved the listing and quotation of 3.58 billion new CIMB shares to be issued in relation to a proposed bonus issue.
According to yesterday’s announcement, Bursa’s approval is subject to, among other requirements, CIMB and its adviser fully complying with relevant provisions under the Main Market Listing Requirements of Bursa Securities (Main LR).
Perodua’s monthly sales for March hit an all time high of 18,500 units compared with the previous high of 17,050 cars in July 2008. The second national automaker also serviced 148,000 cars last month, also the highest ever compared with 145,000 vehicles serviced in July 2009.
Riding on this strong performance, sales for the 1Q jumped 24.5% to 47,800 units from 38,400 units registered in 1Q2009. Perodua estimates its market share for the 1Q to be about 32.9% pending the formal results announced by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA). According to the MAA Perodua’s market share last year was 31.1%.
KYM Holdings Bhd, a packaging products manufacturer, is moving out of its comfort zone, with planned forays into the construction and iron ore processing businesses.
DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd has upped the ante in luring customers to use its broadband network with the implementation of the country's first all-in-one postpaid plan that encourages smartphone usage.
GREEN PACKET BHD [], a developer of next generation mobile broadband and networking solutions, on Tuesday, unveiled its new range of high performance and economical WiMax modems at the WiMax Forum Congress Asia in Taipei.