KUALA LUMPUR: Sentiment among investors may be firmer on Thursday, Dec 10 following the stronger overnight close on Wall Street and at Bursa Malaysia, investors' interest may perk up a bit. However, the undertone of the local market is expected to be cautious, especially after the late selloff the previous day, which saw the FBM KLCI slide 5.9 points to 1,255.
On Wall Street, stocks ended higher on Wednesday, Dec 9 as the U.S. dollar fell and investors' appetite for risk returned, lifting shares of financial, TECHNOLOGY [] and natural resource companies.
Stocks rebounded after falling two days in a row as the dollar rose. The greenback has been inversely correlated with equities since the S&P 500 stock index hit bottom in early March, according to Reuters.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 51.08 points, or 0.50 percent, to 10,337.05. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 3.95 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,095.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 10.74 points, or 0.49 percent, to 2,183.73.
At Bursa Malaysia, stocks to watch include PUNCAK NIAGA HOLDINGS BHD [], Astro All Asia Network PLC, British American Tobbaco Bhd (BAT), GOH BAN HUAT BHD [] (GBH), Hwang DBS (Malaysia) Bhd and MALAYAN BANKING BHD [] (Maybank).
Puncak Niaga and its consortium partners STX Heavy Industries Co Ltd (STX) and Pembinaan Kekal Mewah Sdn Bhd (PKMS) have failed in their bid for a pre-qualification on PETRONAS GAS BHD []’s Kimanis power plant project.
This development may cause Puncak shares to extend its losses after closing 2 sen lower at RM3.04 yesterday.
Astro shares may gain back its losses after announcing improved quarterly results and plans for its high-definition TV services yesterday.
The pay-TV operator posted a net profit of RM133.08 million in 3Q ended Oct 31, 2009 from a net loss of RM250.3 million a year ago. It declared a 2.5 sen tax-exempt interim dividend.
Astro said it would launch high-definition TV this month and rollout infrastructure upgrade worth RM200 million, and spend RM150 million on marketing and operating costs over next fiscal year.
GBH, which is now under the control of Tan Sri Robert Tan Hua Choon, is aiming to raise up to RM74.3 million via a proposed renounceable two-call rights issue of up 123.84 million shares priced at RM1 each towards repaying bank borrowings and for working capital.
BAT stock price extended its decline yesterday, falling 1.81% or 78 sen to close at RM42.42 with 128,000 shares traded. Its shares have been impacted after the company announced that it could lose up to RM80 million from the proposed withdrawal of packets below 20 in June next year.
Hwang-DBS may continue to draw investors interest today after its net profit soared to RM16.3 million in its first quarter (1Q) ended Oct 31, 2009 from RM2.98 million a year ago.
Maybank shares may see movement after the nation’s biggest lender by assets announced a target to increase its deposits by RM3.25 billion during the current four-month period with its "Maybank Extra Rewards" deposit campaign.
Isabelle Francis
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