Bursa likely to stage rebound in coming week, say dealers
Meanwhile, the FBM ACE Index increased 175.15 points to 5,731.23, and the FBM 70 Index advanced 253.19 points to 13,759.84. Weekly turnover fell to 11.21 billion units worth RM6.12 billion, against 14.28 billion units worth RM9.63 billion last week. The Main Market volume shrank to 7.23 billion shares valued at RM4.95 billion, from 8.87 billion shares valued at RM7.42 billion a week ago. Warrant volume slipped to 951.90 million units worth RM130.73 million, from 1.52 billion units worth RM294.96 million previously. The ACE Market volume declined to 3.02 billion shares worth RM1.04 billion, from 3.88 billion shares worth RM1.91 billion last week.
Source:The Edge Markets
January 28, 2023 16:47 UTC
It won’t take much for ECB to crush rate-cut bets next week
And while the market is pricing about 30 basis points of rate cuts between September 2023 and March 2024, those bets are overdone, she said. Traders are less certain that the BOE will deliver a half-point hike next week, with swaps indicating a 90% probability. ECB officials including Gediminas Simkus have stressed risks around the stubbornness of core inflation, remarking this week that 50-basis-point rate hikes “must be taken unequivocally”. Swaps linked to US central bank meetings imply that traders expect almost 50 basis points of rate cuts by year end. “Their job is to convince markets that the rate cuts that have been priced have no place to be there,” he said.
Source:The Edge Markets
January 28, 2023 14:05 UTC
Intel gives one of its grimmest forecasts ever, slamming shares
(Jan 27): Intel Corp gave one of the gloomiest quarterly forecasts in its history after a personal-computer slump ravaged the chipmaker’s business, sending shares tumbling and further setting back turnaround efforts. Intel shares fell 9.3% on Friday (Jan 27) in premarket trading following the announcement. That would help Intel shore up its finances, which were already stretched by ambitious plans to upgrade its technology. The PC market will be a particular weak spot, shrinking to the lower end of Intel’s range of predictions — or about 270 million units. Intel still dominates the market for processors used in servers, with a share of more than 70%.
Source:The Edge Markets
January 27, 2023 18:15 UTC
Stand guard against gout
Choose foods that reduce uric acid in the body. These include tofu, vegetables, and specific seafood such as salmon, tuna, white fish or tilapia and lean cuts of chicken. Avoid alcohol and sugary beveragesSwitch to black or green tea, coconut water, lemon infused water and unsweetened barley. Drink at least eight glasses of water a dayThis will help flush out uric acid from the body, which in turn will reduce the risk of gout attacks. Be mindful of portion controlEating too much can trigger a gout attack so plate up wisely.
Source:New Strait Times
January 27, 2023 02:16 UTC
Blast kills at least 50 in north central Nigeria -officials
BAUCHI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Dozens of cattle herders and bystanders were killed and several injured by a suspected bomb blast in Nigeria's north central region, a state government official and spokesperson of the national cattle breeders said on Wednesday. The incident happened on Tuesday night between Nasarawa and Benue states in north central Nigeria. Nasarawa governor Abdullahi Sule did not say how many people were killed, but told reporters that a bomb blast was responsible for the deaths. North central Nigeria, also known as the Middle Belt, is prone to violence due to clashes between Fulani pastoralists and farmers, who are mainly Christian, which is often painted as ethno-religious conflict. The governor's spokesperson Abubakar Ladan told Reuters that mass burial for those killed were held earlier on Wednesday.
Source:The Star
January 26, 2023 01:38 UTC
Covid-19 Watch: 132 new cases bring total to 5,035,205
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia recorded 132 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday (Jan 25), says the Health Ministry. According to the ministry's KKMNow portal, 130 of the new Covid-19 infections in the country were local transmissions, while there were 2 imported cases. This brings the total number of Covid-19 infections in the country to 5,035,205 cases since the pandemic began. A total of 1 death was recorded on Wednesday with no cases of brought in dead, bringing the total to 36,933.
Source:The Star
January 26, 2023 01:07 UTC
Anwar: No more racist or unfair policies
PUTRAJAYA: Policies that marginalise minority communities will not be allowed to be implemented under the current administration, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says. He said this leadership would continue to protect the people from racism and would end any attempt to use political identity to split the people. There were issues that hurt the feelings of the people in the two regions, some of which were valid while others involved sentiments. Without political will, governance and transparency, injustice will persist,” said Anwar. On the long-drawn issue of fighting corruption, he said: “Effective measures against corruption must include a comprehensive approach in law and community awareness.
Source:The Star
January 20, 2023 01:40 UTC
Bank Negara surprises market, maintains OPR at 2.75%
KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) surprised the market by maintaining the overnight policy rate (OPR) at 2.75%. All but one of 27 economists in a Reuters poll forecast Bank Negara to hike its OPR to 3.00% today. In a statement, Bank Negara said the global economy continued to be weighed down by elevated cost pressures, higher interest rates, and COVID-19-related disruptions in China. Coming off a strong performance in 2022, growth in 2023 is expected to moderate amid a slower global economy,” Bank Negara said. “The MPC will continue to calibrate the monetary policy settings that balance the risks to domestic inflation and sustainable growth,” Bank Negara said.
Source:The Star
January 19, 2023 10:52 UTC
Auditor finds Serba Dinamik has unverified assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses totalling over RM12 bil
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 13): Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd has unverified assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses amounting to RM12.43 billion, according to accountant Jason Sia Sze Wan from Nexia SSY PLT, the group's external auditor. By breakdown, Sia listed under assets an unverified property, plant and equipment of RM1.99 billion, unverified inventories of RM1.59 billion, as well as unverified trade and other receivables of RM1.59 billion. He also indicated RM1.35 billion of unverified revenue and RM1.62 billion of unverified cost of contracts with customers. “We do not express an opinion on the accompanying financial statements of the group and of the company,” Sia said. Serba Dinamik finally submitted its 2022 annual report to Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd on Thursday after much delay since Oct 31, 2022.
Source:The Edge Markets
January 14, 2023 07:23 UTC
Policy on 5G implementation to be tabled in Cabinet before end of first quarter 2023 — Fahmi
KOTA BHARU (Jan 13): The policy on the implementation of the 5G network by Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) will be tabled in the Cabinet before the end of the first quarter of this year, said Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil. Fahmi said he had met with the Ministry of Finance, telecommunication operators and DNB to get feedback on the matter. In the meantime, Fahmi said discussions were underway to establish a communication control centre to overcome internet access issues in certain areas. He said the ministry was looking into tabling a Cabinet Ministers’ memorandum related to the matter and hoped it would be resolved this year. Meanwhile, he said he would hand over donations amounting to RM500,000 to flood-affected residents in the state.
Source:The Edge Markets
January 13, 2023 18:53 UTC
NationGate breaches RM1 mark, jumps 11%
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 13): NationGate Holdings Bhd’s share price breached the RM1 mark and jumped 11% in early morning trade on Friday (Jan 13), merely a day after a firm start on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia. At the time of writing, the stock was up five sen to RM1.05 a share, with 89.96 million shares done. The electronics manufacturing service provider debuted on the ACE Market on Thursday, closing at RM1 against its initial public offering (IPO) price of 38 sen — a premium of 163.16%. Its trading volume was 654.92 million, while its market capitalisation stood at RM2.07 billion, making it the largest IPO on the ACE Market to date. “While NationGate can offer high-mix low-volume and low-mix high volume production set-ups, its strategic diversification towards recession-proof segments has borne fruition, especially amid the current economic downturn," the research house added.
Source:The Edge Markets
January 13, 2023 05:24 UTC
Genetec plans RM154.8 mil private placement to fund expansion, working capital
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 12): ACE Market-listed Genetec Technology Bhd has proposed to undertake a private placement of up to 10% of the company’s total share base to raise as much as RM154.8 million to fund the expansion of its manufacturing facilities and working capital requirements. Of the proceeds, Genetec has earmarked RM94 million towards the expansion of manufacturing facilities, ring-fenced another RM57.8 million for working capital requirements, while the remaining RM3 million is allocated to defray the estimated expenses related to the private placement. Genetec noted that the private placement is subject to Bursa Securities’ approval, and expects to submit its application to the bourse regulator within two months' time. “Barring any unforeseen circumstances and subject to all the approvals/consents being obtained, the proposed private placement is expected to be completed by [the] first half of 2023,” it added. Shares in Genetec closed five sen or 2.1% higher at RM2.43, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM1.66 billion.
Source:The Edge Markets
January 13, 2023 00:55 UTC
Tech has had a bad year and it could get worse in 2023
Ironically, this time last year, the global tech sector was at its pinnacle. That’s despite private equity (PE) firms having bought out some of the unprofitable software firms this past year. Software or hardware engineers would join tech firms like Google, Apple and Facebook with hefty sign-on bonuses, stock options and other perks. In recent weeks, almost all of the large tech firms have announced layoffs. In 2023, as interest rates continue to rise, expect to see more “pain” for the tech sector.
Source:The Edge Markets
January 09, 2023 22:11 UTC
HLIB stays positive on tourism-related beneficiaries as China opens borders
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 9): Hong Leong Investment Bank Research (HLIB) said that in view of the undemanding calendar year 2023 valuations (12.4 times price-earnings versus the 10-year mean of 16.7 times), low foreign shareholdings (November 2022: 20.7%; all-time low: 20.1% in August), and more investors returning from the year-end holidays, it remains hopeful that the FBM KLCI could chalk up a back-to-back gain in January, with resistance levels at 1,493-1,512-1,528. In a traders’ brief on Monday (Jan 9), the research house said that given China’s border reopening on Sunday, it remains positive on tourism-related beneficiaries, such as Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, Capital A Bhd, Genting Malaysia Bhd, Sunway Bhd, IGB Real Estate Investment Trust, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, IHH Healhcare Bhd, KPJ Healthcare Bhd, Berjaya Food Bhd, and Focus Point Holdings Bhd. “Key events to watch out for in January include: i) the US Federal Open Market Committee meetings (Jan 31 to Feb 1) and Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) overnight policy rate (OPR) decision (Jan 19) to assess the cumulative impact of a 4.25% rate by the US Federal Reserve and a 1% increase in the OPR; ii) the Umno general assembly on Jan 11 to 14; iii) the start of the US' results season for the fourth quarter of 2022, which will start on Friday with US major banks; and iv) political turmoil in Sabah,” HLIB said.
Source:The Edge Markets
January 09, 2023 08:47 UTC
IPO: ACE Market IPOs dominate in 2022 amid hunger for growth deals
The number of ACE Market listings more than doubled to 25 from 11 last year, while there was an equal number of five listings on the Main Market and the LEAP Market. In comparison, there were seven Main Market listings and 12 on the LEAP Market last year. The IPO scene in 2022 year to date was dominated by the ACE Market in number,” Maybank Investment Bank head of equity capital markets Raymond Chooi tells The Edge. We observe that the domestic IPO market remains robust and continues to attract interest from domestic and foreign investors,” he explains. Global IPOs hit, awaiting comeback in 2023 — EYAfter a record-breaking 2021, the global IPO market proved otherwise in 2022.
Source:The Edge Markets
January 09, 2023 08:33 UTC