Written by Surin Murugiah of theedgemalaysia.com
Wednesday, 16 March 2011 06:00
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KUALA LUMPUR: Stocks at key regional markets, including on Bursa Malaysia, could extend their losses on Wednesday, March 16 as investor sentiment is likely to remain negative after the plunge at Japan's Nikkei 225 over the past two days.
Key Asian markets slumped earlier on Tuesday, Mar 15 after the Nikkei 225 plunged more than 14% as panic swept Tokyo on after a rise in radioactive levels around an earthquake-hit nuclear power plant north of the city.
Adding to investor concern are the rising tensions in the Middle East where Bahrain declared a state of emergency following weeks of unrest on the island kingdom, saying the measure would come into force immediately and last three months.
Meanwhile, raw materials fell on Tuesday, as key markets ignored fundamentals to falter under a wave of risk aversion with Japan's deepening nuclear crisis, sending crude oil down by more than 4%, according to Reuters.
Among the stocks on Bursa Malaysia that could be in focus today are glove manufacturers, BERJAYA SPORTS TOTO BHD [] (BJToto), BREM HOLDINGS BHD [], GD EXPRESS CARRIER BHD [] and MTD CAPITAL BHD []. Glove manufacturers could extend their gains from Tuesday as export demand is expected to rise in the aftermath of the earthquake in Japan that may spark a health crisis.
BJToto net profit for the third quarter ended Jan 31, 2011 rose 17.4% to RM114.87 million from RM97.85 million a year ago, driven by an increase in revenue, mainly contributed by Berjaya Philippines Inc. group.
BToto declared a third interim single tier exempt dividend of 6 sen per share in respect of the financial year ending April 30, 2011.
Brem's 75%-owned subsidiary Harmony Property Sdn Bhd is acquiring two parcels of industrial land in Petaling Jaya from ROCA Malaysia Sdn Bhd for RM48 million cash as part of its plan to accumulate strategic land bank.
Brem said the acquisition represented an opportunity for the group to accumulate strategic land bank at a reasonable price as the PROPERTIES [] are situated in a prime location with positive commercial property development potential within the popular Petaling Jaya area.
GD Express could be in focus after Singapore Post Ltd raised its stake in the company to 27.08% from the initial 4.98%, positioning itself as a strategic investor in the Malaysian express delivery and logistics services provider.
Singapore Post on Tuesday acquired 56.84 million shares — representing a 22.1% stake, in GD Express — for a total purchase consideration of RM45.47 million cash or 80 sen a piece.
Meanwhile, the independent directors of MTD Capital are accepting the offer from Datuk Dr Nik Hussain Abdul Rahman and Datuk Azmil Khalili Khalid, the group executive chairman and president & CEO of MTD respectively, to acquire MTD Prime and Metramac for RM3.53 billion cash.
MALAYSIAN AIRLINE SYSTEM BHD [] and AIRASIA BHD [], meanwhile, could see some selling pressure following HwangDBS Vickers Research lowering its target price for the two stocks on Tuesday.
The research house said it expected high oil prices to drag the airlines' earnings.