Stocks to watch: LKT, Lityan, Scomi, Alam Maritim

KUALA LUMPUR: After several days of losses, investors sentiment could perk up on Friday, Oct 30, as Wall Street snapped its recent losses following a recovery in the US economy in the third quarter.

The US government's first estimate of US gross domestic product showed the economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.5% in 3Q, showing signs it was emerging from the worst recession in 70 years. However, economists' concerns are whether the growth is sustainable once the subsidies end.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 199.89 points, or 2.05%, to end at 9,962.58. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index jumped 2.25%, to 1,066.11 -- marking its biggest one-day percentage gain in three months. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 37.94 points, or 1.84%, to close at 2,097.55.

At Bursa, stocks to watch are LKT INDUSTRIAL BHD [], LITYAN HOLDINGS BHD [], SCOMI GROUP BHD [], ALAM MARITIM RESOURCES BHD [] while other companies which could attract interest are banks, PLANTATION []s, SUNRISE BHD [], KURNIA ASIA BHD [], YTL E-SOLUTIONS BHD [] and Rubberex Corp (M) Bhd.

LKT minority shareholders were offered RM2.10 per share, or 30 sen above the last traded price, by major shareholder Precision Engineering - a unit of Temasek Holdings - which wants to take it private.

Lityan, which has regularised its financial condition, will resume trading on Friday. The reference price is RM1 and the upper trading limit shall be 400% above the reference price whereas the lower limit shall be 30% for the whole day.

Scomi subsidiary Scomi International Pte Ltd has sealed a multi-year distributor agreement with UK's Artevea Digital Ltd, an expert in terrestrial trunked radio communication systems, to offer the latter's extensive line of radio mobile communication solutions globally.

Alam Maritim's 60% owned subsidiary Workboat International DMCCO was awarded two contracts from a main contractor of oil majors that is cumulatively worth RM36.98 million.

Banks and plantations, which came under profit taking recently, should show some recovery, underpinned by the improved market sentiment.

Sunrise expects to launch at least two real estate projects in the Klang Valley within its current financial year ending June 2010 and add to its unbilled property sales, which stand at some RM860 million.

Kurnia Asia posted a net profit of RM32.25 million in the three months to Sept 30, 2009 versus a net loss of RM12.11 million a year earlier due to a turnaround in the investment portfolio and improved underwriting performance.

YTL E-Solutions has appealed to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) against a RM1.9 million fine meted out by the latter for its failure to meet stipulated targets in its WiMAX rollout.

Rubberex's 3Q earnings rose owing to better profit margins and better sales contributions from its China subsidiaries. Net profit nearly doubled to RM5.55 million from RM2.35 million a year earlier, while revenue fell to RM85.23 million from RM87.3 million. It declared a first interim tax-exempt dividend of six sen per share.