HDBSVR sees KLCI moving sideways, expects profit taking

KUALA LUMPUR (March 6): HwangDBS Vickers Research said the key FBM KLCI, which has displayed resilience, is expected to gyrate sideways ahead amid profit-taking activity.

It said on Tuesday the immediate support and resistance levels for the benchmark FBM KLCI are presently pegged at 1,580 and 1,600, respectively.

Meanwhile, Asian equities will likely take a breather too after China guided for slower economic growth expectations this year. This also caused major U.S. stock indices to drop between 0.1% and 0.9% at the closing bell last night.

Against a fairly steady backdrop, stocks that may attract interest on Bursa Malaysia include: (a) Jaks Resources, which has accepted a letter of award for a building CONSTRUCTION [] contract valued at RM252m; (b) Media Shoppe, after announcing that it has decided not to accept the letter of award in relation to its subcontractor role to participate in certain portions of KTM’s automatic fare collection system project; and (c) Envair Holdings, following a news article saying that its new major shareholder would be injecting an oil & gas project worth RM1.5b into the company.



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Stocks to watch: Tenaga, Affin, Ivory and TMS

KUALA LUMPUR (March 6): Stocks could retreat on Tuesday as investors take profit after the recent run-up in selected blue chips -- which pushed the FBM KLCI near the all-time high of1,594 -- as sentiment could take a dent following the weaker regional markets and decline on Wall Street.

Stocks on Bursa Malaysia staged a strong performance in February, underpinned by foreign institutional funds, who were net buyers of Malaysian equities. Foreign investors bought RM9.2 billion and sold RM7.9 billion worth of shares in the local market. This translated into a net purchase of RM1.3 billion.

However, local institutional investors were net sellers during the month. They bought RM14.2 billion of equities and sold RM14.7 billion, resulting in a net sale of RM500 million.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks fell on Monday for the second straight session and the third in the last four trading days, led lower by basic materials shares after China trimmed its growth target for 2012.

The Dow Jones industrial average shed 14.76 points, or 0.11 percent, to 12,962.81 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dipped 5.30 points, or 0.39 percent, to 1,364.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 25.71 points, or 0.86 percent, to close at 2,950.48.

At Bursa Malaysia, mong the stocks to watch are TENAGA NASIONAL BHD [] (TNB), AFFIN HOLDINGS BHD [], Ivory PROPERTIES [] Group Bhd, THE MEDIA SHOPPE BHD [] (TMS), ALAM MARITIM RESOURCES BHD [] and C.I. HOLDINGS BHD [].

Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has reiterated that it will not continue selling subsidised gas to TNB for electricity generation this year.

Petronas currently provides subsidies of up to RM20 billion per year to the power industry in the form of natural gas at rates below market prices. It had paid RM108.5 billion in subsidies for TNB since 1997, including RM3.9 billion for the three quarters ended Dec 31, 2011.

Affin expects its plan to set up Islamic banking operations in China to materialise in the second half (2H) of this year. It is also revisiting its plan to acquire an 80% stake in an Islamic bank in Indonesia, P.T. Bank Ina Perdana.

Ivory Properties plans to roll out residential and commercial projects on Penang island with a total gross development value of RM1.4 billion this year. It is targeting some RM800 million of sales in 2012, including on-going projects.

The Media Shoppe Bhd, whose shares were actively traded, said it had declined to take part in the project involving the automatic fare collection system for Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd’s commuter stations.

The company said it was not feasible for it to undertake the project which was awarded by Hopetech Sdn Bhd mainly “due to funding is not available within the required time frame of delivery”.

Malaysian Rating Corporation (MARC) has revised the outlook on Alam Maritim Resources Bhd’s Islamic notes from stable to negative following the company’s weaker credit profile.

The ratings agency had affirmed its ratings at AA-IS and MARC-1ID/AA-ID on Alam Maritim’s RM500 million Sukuk Ijarah medium term notes and RM100 million Murabahah commercial papers/Murabahah medium term notes programmes respectively.

MARC said the revised outlook reflected the pressure on Alam Maritim's credit profile arising from significantly weaker earnings and cash flow generation in 2010 and 2011.

In CI Holdings Bhd, the company said its capital repayment of 50 sen per ordinary share would go ex on March 16.



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Blue chips extend gains, CIMB, Sime lead again

KUALA LUMPUR (March 5): Bursa Malaysia closed higher on Monday on gains in selected blue-chips, dealers said.

The FBM KLCI was set to break the all-time high of 1,594.74 earlier when it reached 1,594.72 but it retreated to close at 1,589.22, up 5.44 points.

A dealer said although the market failed to make a breakthrough the momentum has been set for it to further move up and try break the resistance in the near term.

"At the moment, interest was very focused on selective blue-chips without an preference for any particular group," he said.

The Finance Index jumped 74.72 points to 14,204.47. The PLANTATION [] Index dropped 16.44 points to 8,661.77 and the INDUSTRIAL INDEX [] was 8.23 points lower at 2,918.54. The FBM Emas Index rose 27.721 points to 10,974.61 and the FBMT100 increased 26.88 points to 10,758.28.

Advancers led decliners by 391 to 325 while 414 counters were unchanged, 365 untraded and 20 suspended. Total volume declined to 1.448 billion shares valued at RM1.760 billion from 1.630 billion shares valued at RM1.934 billion last Friday.

Among active stocks, The Media Shoppe inched up one sen to 9.5 sen, Naim Indah increased 1.5 sen to 53 sen, Green Ocean Corp rose 2.5 sen to 30 sen and Kumpulan Hartanah Selangor climbed half sen to 63 sen.

China Stationery Ltd lost 10 sen to RM1.08.

Of the heavyweights, CIMB rose 15 sen to RM7.48, Sime Darby increased two sen to RM10 and Tenaga added six sen to RM6.31. Maybank and Maxis were unchanged at RM8.77 and RM5.94 respectively. - Bernama



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TMS declines participation in KTM project, cites funding

KUALA LUMPUR (March 5): THE MEDIA SHOPPE BHD [] has declined to take part in the project involving the automatic fare collection system for Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd’s commuter stations.

The company said on Monday it was not feasible for it to undertake the project which was awarded by Hopetech Sdn Bhd mainly “due to funding is not available within the required time frame of delivery”.

Hence, TMS said it had decided not to accept the letter of award from Hopetech.



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KLCI closes marginally lower

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 22): The FBM KLCI closed marginally lower, dragged down by PLANTATION [] stocks and doubts on Greece's ability to undertake austerity measures.

The FBM KLCI on Wednesday closed 3.26 points lower, or 0.21%, to close at 1.560.52, weighed down by plantation-related stocks — such as IOI Group (down 10 sen to RM5.34), PPB GROUP BHD [] (down 50 sen to RM17.14) and KLK (down 36 sen to RM23.64) — which brought the index down by 3.06 points.

A total of 2.32 billion shares were traded, valued at RM1.94 billion. Losers led gainers 541 to 302, while 298 counters traded unchanged.

Regionally, markets closed on a positive note, made upbeat by China's Production Manufacturing Index (PMI) numbers, which rose to 49.7 in February from 48.8 in January — the highest in four months.

Taiwan's Taiex was up 1.01% to 8,001.68, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.96% to 9,554.00, Shanghai's Composite Index up 0.93% to 2,403.59, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.33% to 21,549.28, and South Korea's Kospi increased marginally by 0.22% to 2,028.65. However, Singapore's Straits Index fell 0.97% to 2,995.59.

On Bursa Malaysia, top gainers included DUTCH LADY MILK INDUSTRIES BHD [] (up 40 sen to RM25.80), TAHPS GROUP BHD [] (up 39 sen to RM4.80), and CHIN TECK PLANTATIONS BHD [] (up 34 sen to RM9).

Among top losers were HARRISONS HOLDINGS (M) BHD [] (down 53 sen to RM3.17), after it received a letter of demand from Kastam DiRaja Malaysia for unpaid excise, import and sales tax amounting RM91.75 million.

PPB Group Bhd also continued its losing streak after Wilmar International Ltd — the world's largest palm oil firm — released its 4Q11 results, which missed analyst estimates. The stock was down 50 sen to RM17.14.

Most actively traded on Wednesday included The Media Shoppe (down half a sen to 11 sen, with 221.5 million shares traded), Green Ocean Corporation Bhd (down 2.5 sen to 30 sen), and IFCA MSC BHD [] (up one sen to 14.5 sen).



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Bursa Securities queries The Media Shoppe over unusual mkt activity

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): Bursa Malaysia Securities has queried THE MEDIA SHOPPE BHD [] over the unusual market activity in its shares.

At 4.49pm, TMS was up 0.5 sen to 13.5 sen with 142 million shares done

Bursa Securities said the query was over the sharp fall in price and high volume of the company’s shares recently.



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TMS gets KTMB ticketing job

KUALA LUMPUR: The Media Shoppe Bhd (TMS) has been appointed a subcontractor for the automatic fare collection system (AFC) for KTM Bhd’s (KTMB) commuter stations.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, TMS said it had received a letter of award dated Feb 8, 2012 from Hopetech Sdn Bhd appointing it as subcontractor to work on the RM85.88 million project which involves designing, manufacturing, supplying, installing and commissioning of the AFC system.

Hopetech was given a letter of award by the Transport Ministry on Dec 21 appointing it a contractor for the RM85.88 million contract.

“According to Hopetech, the letter of award from the MoT is still valid and the project has commenced in January 2011, and is expected to complete in April 2012,” said TMS in a statement.

TMS closed at 24 sen yesterday, with 41.6 million shares traded. At 24 sen, it is still 155% higher than the stock’s 52-week average price of 9.4 sen.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, February 9, 2012.




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TMS gets KTMB ticketing job

KUALA LUMPUR: The Media Shoppe Bhd (TMS) has been appointed a subcontractor for the automatic fare collection system (AFC) for KTM Bhd’s (KTMB) commuter stations.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, TMS said it had received a letter of award dated Feb 8, 2012 from Hopetech Sdn Bhd appointing it as subcontractor to work on the RM85.88 million project which involves designing, manufacturing, supplying, installing and commissioning of the AFC system.

Hopetech was given a letter of award by the Transport Ministry on Dec 21 appointing it a contractor for the RM85.88 million contract.

“According to Hopetech, the letter of award from the MoT is still valid and the project has commenced in January 2011, and is expected to complete in April 2012,” said TMS in a statement.

TMS closed at 24 sen yesterday, with 41.6 million shares traded. At 24 sen, it is still 155% higher than the stock’s 52-week average price of 9.4 sen.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, February 9, 2012.



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Media Shoppe advances on KTM job news

The Media Shoppe Bhd, a developer of Internet sites, advanced 3.3 per cent to 31.5 sen, the most since Jan 30. The company and Hopetech Sdn may be jointly awarded a RM21 million contract to supply passenger information and closed-circuit television systems to KTM Bhd, the Star newspaper reported today, citing people it didn’t identify. Media Shoppe will issue a statement to the stock exchange to comment on the news report, chief executive officer Christopher Chan Hooi Guan said in a telephone interview today. -- Bloomberg



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HDBSVR sees KLCI lacking market direction

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): HwangDBS Vickers Research said the FBM KLCI could see a lack of market direction when trading resumes on Wednesday but Genting Malaysia could see trading interest after the latest development over its casino venture in Florida.

“On the chart, the bellwether may swing sideways with a marginal downward bias, with its immediate support level pegged at 1,530,” it said in its market outlook.

HDBSVR said during the closure of the Malaysian stock exchange on Monday and Tuesday, regional peers posted a mixed performance.

Over the two-day period, Singapore was up 1.4%, Japan (+1.0%) and Korea (+0.5%) chalked up gains but Indonesia (-1.5%), China shares listed in Hong Kong (-0.9%) and Hong Kong (-0.3%) lost grounds. Meanwhile, Wall Street showed little changes with key U.S. equity indices closing between -0.1% and +0.2% since last Friday.

HDBSVR said stocks that may be of added interest include: (a) Genting Malaysia, as its casino venture plan in Florida in the U.S. could be disrupted by last Friday’s withdrawal of a casino gambling bill by its legislative sponsor; (b) Coastal Contracts, after a business weekly reported that it plans to penetrate into the upstream segment of Indonesia’s oil & gas sector; and (c) The Media Shoppe, which may secure a RM21m contract to design, supply and commission passenger information and closed-circuit television systems.



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The Media Shoppe inks collaboration agreement with Hopetech

The Media Shoppe inks collaboration agreement with Hopetech

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 3): THE MEDIA SHOPPE BHD [] has inked a collaboration agreement with Hopetech Sdn Bhd under which Hopetech would be granted access to several projects.

TMS said on Friday that under the agreement, the projects could be undertaken by Hopetech by itself or with the assistance of TMS, in the areas of technical and funding support.

The company said Hopetech would be the main identifier of projects which require TMS’ input and participation.

The parties would then mutually decide on the best possible way to tap into each others’ intellectual property in order to carry out the execution of the project in the most efficient and optimum manner, it said.

TMS chief executive Christopher Chan said that under the agreement, both TMS and Hopetech had the option of a joint venture structure where they may enter into negotiations for the setting-up of a joint venture company should both companies agree to proceed with the project.

The agreement would be valid for a duration of 12 months unless terminated earlier, he said in a statement Friday.

Chan said Hopetech wou;d be responsible for identifying and pursuing projects including governmental projects whether local or overseas.

Hopetech will also be responsible for the preparation of any submission and pitching to the awarding party and to identify any funding requirements pursuant to the said projects, he said.

Chan said that TMS, on its part, would assist Hopetech in the latter’s pitching and submission and undertake relevant portions of the projects including assisting to raise or procure funding (whether through itself or through a third party) to carry out the said projects.

“Under the agreement, each company will be allowed to cross invest in the other company.

“Both TMS and Hopetech believe that they can mutually benefit from entering into a Collaboration Agreement to work together,” he said.



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Schools project worth RM350m?

Sistem Pengurusan Sekolah (SPS), or school management system project, which The Media Shoppe Bhd and Theta Edge Bhd are jointly proposing to the government, is estimated to be worth around RM350 million, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Theta Edge said in its reply to Bursa Malaysia’s query last Thursday that the estimated value of the project, profit margin and revenue and profit sharing ratio between the two parties are still being discussed. Similarly, The Media Shoppe told the stock exchange that the project value and profit sharing arrangement with Theta Edge have yet to be determined.

Theta Edge did indicate that if its wholly-owned subsidiary Konsortium Jaya Sdn Bhd (KJSB) is awarded the project, it would have a material impact on the group’s earnings.

In its Jan 19 announcement to Bursa Malaysia, Media Shoppe said its wholly-owned subsidiary TMS Software Sdn Bhd had entered into a teaming agreement with KJSB to submit their proposal for the SPS project to the government.

KJSB, which provides sales and maintenance of computers and telecommunications equipment, peripherals and related services, is the main contractor in this project. If it is awarded the project, it will appoint TMS as subcontractor for the implementation stage.

“The project proposed to the Ministry of Education (MoE), which will take about three years to implement in 10,000 schools, is estimated to be worth RM350 million. The expected margin is quite high,” said the source.




If the project is secured, it could give the two companies’ earnings a major lift.

Theta Edge and The Media Shoppe have a combined market capitalisation of RM244.6 million and were loss-making in the first nine months of last year.

Theta Edge has a market capitalisation of RM65.42 million. Its revenue for FY10 ended Dec 31 was RM86.2 million and its net loss RM4.3 million. For the nine months to Sept 30, 2011, the company posted a net loss of RM10.51 million on revenue of RM42.44 million.

The Media Shoppe’s market capitalisation stood at RM179.2 million. Its revenue for FY10 ended Dec 31 was RM10.2 million and its net profit RM2.2 million. For the nine months to Sept 30, 2011 though, the company slipped into the red, with a net loss of RM3.7 million on revenue totalling RM2.63 million.

The RM350 million project is apparently a milestone for both companies but it should be noted that it is not yet in the bag. It is also unclear if the government will open up the SPS project for tender by other parties.

As such, investors betting on it becoming a reality for the two companies could be taking a risky bet, especially after the sizable gains last week.

“There is currently no call for tender and the expected date of submission of proposals to the government for the project is not fixed,” The Media Shoppe clarified to the stock exchange last Thursday. “We have successfully implemented the pilot project in 88 schools and have the technical knowledge, experience, software resources and necessary expertise for the same area.”

Theta Edge, a subsidiary of Tabung Haji group, told Bursa in its reply that KJSB had only started working with TMS on the preparation of the proposal. It added that the expected financing requirements and/or sources of funding for the project and sub-contract agreement had yet to be finalised.

It also pointed out that no deposit, performance bond or tender fee had been paid for the teaming agreement with TMS, and no date was set for the submission to the MoE.

“As far as Theta Edge is aware, there is no specific time frame for the MoE to revert on the outcome of the proposal,” said the company.

The SPS is a system that manages day-to-day school operations such as student registration, subjects, extra curricular activities, examinations and staff. It also acts as a communication channel for teachers, students, parents and the MoE, according to the source.

Theta Edge outlined the roles of KJSB, which include hosting, creating and submitting the proposal and subsequent correspondence with the MoE. It will also consult with TMS on the preparation, creation, submission of the proposal and communication with the MoE.

To this end, TMS will also prepare and submit to KJSB part of the proposal with regard to its services that include its roles, responsibility and fees.

The Media Shoppe’s share price tripled in the past week alone after news of the project broke.

After Bursa issued an unusual activity query on Jan 19, the company announced the tie-up with Theta Edge on the same day, and requested a suspension of the shares on Jan 20 which closed at 34 sen.

The counter resumed trading last Friday to close at 37.5 sen, up 3.5 sen but off an intra-day high of 45 sen. Before last week’s rally, its shares were trading below 10 sen.

Theta Edge’s shares also rallied, but by a smaller margin. The stock shed 2.5 sen to 61 sen last Friday, and rose 30% from 47 sen before the market closed for the lunar new year holidays.

However, with no certainty if the proposal will be accepted by the government, and with no fixed timeline, an analyst advocates caution at this juncture.

As a yardstick, net assets per share of The Media Shoppe and Theta Edge stood at six sen and 82 sen respectively as at Sept 30, 2011.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, January 30, 2012.



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Media Shoppe’s directors sell into rally

KUALA LUMPUR: Several directors in The Media Shoppe Bhd have pared their stakes in the company, riding on a strong rally spurred by news of its plans to bid for a school management project.

Incidentally, the timing of this announcement on Jan 19 coincided with the listing of its 312.63 million new shares and 234.47 million warrants arising from the rights issue.

The rally in The Media Shoppe share price enabled its shareholders to rake in quick profits when they received new shares from the rights issue.

In fact, several of the ACE Market-listed company’s shareholders and directors have since sold some of their newly issued free warrants — with handsome gains.

According to filings with Bursa Malaysia, two directors — CEO Christopher Chan Hooi Guan and Chan Chooi Teng — have sold a total of 48.7 million warrants, or 20% of the total warrants issued under the rights issue.

The warrants were issued free to shareholders who subscribed for the rights shares, but were worth 10.5 sen each by the end of last Friday.

The fundraising exercise proposed last October comprised a 2-for-1 rights issue priced at 10 sen per share, together with free warrants on the basis of three warrants for every four rights shares subscribed.

Chan and his spouse own 44 million shares and 33 million warrants with Master Knowledge Sdn Bhd.

On Jan 19, The Media Shoppe told Bursa Malaysia that its subsidiary TMS Software Sdn Bhd and Theta Edge Bhd’s subsidiary Konsortium Jaya Sdn Bhd entered into a teaming agreement on Jan 18 to work together for the submission of a proposal to the Education Ministry in relation to the Perluasan Sistem Pengurusan Sekolah (SPS) or school management project (see related story).

However, it should be noted that the parties are only planning to submit their proposal for the project. There is no deadline, time line or indicative chances of its success.

Still, that piece of news sent The Media Shoppe shares tripling in the past week, and shareholders who participated in the rights exercise appeared to have gained more than that.

The stock was trading at below 10 sen the previous week, and surged to 37.5 sen last Friday. The newly issued warrants closed at 10.5 sen.

According to calculations by The Edge Financial Daily, a shareholder with 4,000 shares bought at 10 sen each for RM400 would have been entitled to subscribe for 8,000 rights shares at 10 sen each (or RM800). He would have also received 6,000 free warrants.

After the rights issue, he will end up with 12,000 shares and 6,000 warrants, at a total cost of RM1,200.

Based on last Friday’s closing prices, these securities would be worth RM5,130, comprising RM4,500 for the shares and RM630 for the warrants.

This suggests a four-fold increase in the value of a shareholder’s investment in the company.

In other words, if one had invested RM100,000 in The Media Shoppe’s shares and taken up the rights issue, that investment would be worth RM427,500 last Friday.

That fact does not appear to have gone unnoticed among some of the company’s directors.

CEO Chan’s shareholding changed on Jan 19, after he acquired 44 million shares and 33 million warrants via the rights issue.

Chan and his spouse Li Chi Yeng collectively own the shares with Master Knowledge Sdn Bhd in which they have interest.

Chan was subsequently reported on Jan 20 and 27 to have disposed of 12.78 million warrants and 7.72 million warrants respectively, paring down his stake to 5.33%.

Chooi Teng, meanwhile, acquired 37.6 million shares and 28.2 million free warrants via the rights issue. She disposed of a total of 25.95 million warrants on Jan 19 and 20, and another 2.25 million warrants on Jan 27.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, January 30, 2012.



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KL shares mixed at mid-afternoon

KUALA LUMPUR: shares prices on Bursa Malaysia remained mixed at mid-afternoon today on continued profit taking activities ahead of the weekend, dealers said.

At 3.03pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 3.11 points to 1,520.75, pulled down by key bluechips, including CIMB, Maybank and Genting.

A dealer said with Wall Street looking to consolidate following the recent disappointing housing data in the United States, it caused investors to remain sidelined.

However, market remained active, with 1.485 billion shares worth RM1.11 billion, changing hands.

Gainers led losers 376 to 348 while 314 counters were unchanged.

The Finance Index lost 28.54 points to 13,468.07, while the Plantation Index advanced 8.46 points to 8,735.67 and the Industrial Index added 0.75 of a point to 2,793.45.

The FBM Emas earned 2.66 points to 10,577.27, the FBM Mid 70 surged 78.45 points to 12,140.47 and the FBM Ace rose 23.01 points to 4,473.41.

Among active stocks, Compugates Holdings advanced 0.5 sen to nine sen, DRB-Hicom increased eight sen to 14 sen while The Media Shoppe eased 0.5 sen to 11 sen.

Of the heavyweights, Maybank fell three sen to RM8.19, Sime Darby shed one sen to RM9.07, while Petronas Chemicals was flat at RM6.67. - Bernama



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KL shares mixed at midday

Share prices on Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session mixed today as investors remained on the sidelines amid the cautious market sentiment, dealers said.

At lunch break, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 2.12 points to 1,521.74. It had opened 0.01 of a point higher at 1,523.87.

Another dealer said investors preferred to take a conservative approach amid continued talks between the Greek government and private-sector creditors over its debt crisis.

"Greece and its private-sector creditors agreed to meet again on Friday in a race to negotiate a 100 billion euro (US$131 billion) debt write-down for the country," he said.

A total of 1.21 billion shares worth RM893.67 million changed hands with gainers leading losers by 357 to 345.

The Finance Index slipped 29.87 points to 13,466.74, while the Plantation Index gained 16.44 points to 8,743.65 and the Industrial Index earned 2.99 points to 2,795.69.

The FBM Emas rose 5.88 points to 10,580.49, the FBM Mid 70 jumped 75.77 points to 12,137.79 and the FBM ACE increased 9.74 points to 4,460.14.

Among active stocks, The Media Shoppe stood unchanged at 11.5 sen, while Karyon Industries Warrants added two sen to six sen and DRB-Hicom advanced four sen to 10 sen.

Among heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals earned one sen to RM6.68, while Maybank and Sime Darby eased one sen each to RM8.21 and RM9.07, respectively. -- BERNAMA



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KL stocks easier in early trade

Share prices on Bursa Malaysia were traded lower in the early session Friday on profit-taking in the plantation, palm oil and finance counters, dealers said.

After 10 minutes of trading, the underlying FBM KLCI lost 1.15 points to 1,522.71 after opening 0.01 of a point higher at 1,523.87.

The HwangDBS Vickers Research said the benchmark FBM KLCI would probably tread in a tight band with a marginal downward bias.

"The immediate support line for the bellwether currently stands at 1,515," it said in a research note today.

The research house said while the broad market performance was expected to be sluggish, there could be excitement in individual stocks such as IJM Corp and Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd amid media reports that they have been awarded construction packages worth RM1.7 billion for the Mass Rapid Transit project.

Kumpulan Europlus' shares are also expected to rise after securing government approval to undertake the RM7.1 billion West Coast Expressway project. The concession is for 60 years.

Market sentiments were broadly higher, with gainers outpacing losers 137 to 77, with 140 counters unchanged, 1,120 untraded and 26 suspended.

Turnover stood at 152.07 million shares worth RM80.17 million.
The Finance Index dwindled 10.74 points to 13,485.87, the Plantation Index lost 13.58 points to 8,713.63, and the Industrial Index fell 5.09 points to 2,787.61.

However, the FBM Emas gained 7.12 points to 10,581.73, the FBM Mid 70 surged 65.69 points to 12,127.71 and the FBM Ace rose 10.52 points to 4,460.92.

Among the volume leaders, The Media Shoppe earned half a sen to 12 sen, Karyon Industries added 1.5 sen to 5.5 sen, while Jotech Holdings eased half sen to 15 sen.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank gained four sen to RM8.26, Sime Darby stood unchanged at RM9.08, while Petronas Chemicals lost one sen to RM6.66. -- Bernama



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KL shares extend gains at midmorning

Shares on Bursa Malaysia extended their gains at mid-morning session today amid a positive external sentiment, dealers said.

At 10.50am, the underlying FBM KLCI gained 4.06 points to 1,520.87 after opening 1.33 points higher at 1,518.14.

Risk sentiment improved following overnight gains on Wall Street as encouraging earnings from US banks and a drop in jobless claims boosted confidence.

Sentiment was also boosted by the Spanish and French bond auctions that drew solid demand, calming fears about Europe's ability to fund its debt, Hong Leong Investment Bank said.

Market breadth was positive with gainers thumping losers by 317 to 182. Volume amounted to 668.71 million valued at RM355.66 million.

The Finance Index advanced 54.37 points to 13,468.06, Plantation Index jumped 41.67 points to 8,547.38 and the Industrial Index rose 2.63 points to 2,776.42.The FBM Emas increased 32.55 points to 10,512.41, the FBM Mid 70 perked 47.60 points to 11,874.49 and the FBM Ace climbed 34.06 points to 4,371.32.

DBE Gurney was among the actives after it confirmed that it was in talks with a shareholder of CI Holding Bhd which included a private placement exercise. It declined one sen to 12.5 sen with 84.8 million shares traded. Media Shoppe gained 2.5 sen to 12.5 sen while DBE Gurney-Warrants were unchanged at 7.5 sen.

Among heavyweights, Maybank increased five sen to RM8.25 while Sime Darby shed one sen to RM9.09 and Petronas Chemicals slipped two sen to RM6.66. -- BERNAMA



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FBM KLCI higher in early trade

Shares on Bursa Malaysia were traded higher in the early session Friday as investors seek for profits ahead of the long weekend for the Chinese New Year celebrations, dealers said.

After 10 minutes of trading, the underlying FBM KLCI rose 0.51 of a point to 1,517.32 against Thursday's 1,516.81 close.

It had opened 1.33 points higher at 1,518.14.

HwangDBS Vickers Research said the key FBM KLCI could hop a bit higher amid positive external sentiments on the last trading day in the year of the rabbit.

From a technical perspective, the benchmark index will likely pull away from the 1,515 support line and possibly climb towards 1,530 immediate resistance threshold, it said in a research note.

Investors' sentiments were also lifted by overnight gains on the Wall Street as encouraging earnings from the US banks and a drop in jobless claims boosted confidence.

Market breadth was positive with gainers outpacing losers 145 to 55 while 121 counters were unchanged, 1,165 untraded and 33 suspended. Turnover stood at 139.8 million shares worth RM38.1 million.

The Finance Index gained 5.85 points to 13,419.54, the Plantation Index added 3.38 points to 8,509.09 and the Industrial Index rose 4.05 points to 2,777.84. The FBM Emas added 7.66 points to 10,487.52, the FBM Mid 70 perked 23.10 points to 11,849.99 and the FBM Ace jumped 20.19 points to 4,357.45.

Volume leaders, Media Shoppe was up two sen to 12 sen, DBE Gurney-Warrants rose half a sen to eight sen while DBE Gurney was unchanged at 13.5 sen.

Among heavyweights, Maybank, Sime Darby and Petronas Chemicals slipped one sen each to RM8.19, RM9.09 and RM6.67, respectively, while CIMB was flat at RM7.11. -- BERNAMA



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KL shares reverses earlier gain at mid-afternoon

Shares on Bursa Malaysia gave up early gains at mid-afternoon today amid lack of buying interest ahead of the extended Chinese New Year weekend, dealers said.

At 3pm, the FBM KLCI lost 1.89 points to 1,515.49 as investors reduced positions in selected heavyweights. It had opened 1.58 points lower at 1,515.80.

Market sentiment remained bearish with losers leading gainers 358 to 300 and 320 counters unchanged. Volume totalled 1.23 billion shares worth RM844.84 million.

The Finance Index dropped 25.84 points to 13,406.87 and the Industrial Index declined 2.83 points to 2,773.92. The Plantation Index increased 18.84 points to 8,504.87.

The FBM Mid 70 was up 18.71 points to 11,818.19 and the FBM Ace rose 9.81 points to 4,296.36. The FBM Emas slipped 6.11 points to 10,470.02.

Volume leader DBE Gurney was half sen higher at 11.5 sen, Media Shoppe advanced 12 sen to 21 sen and Media Shoppe-Warrants jumped 10.5 sen to 11 sen.

Among heavyweights, Maybank slid eight sen to RM8.20, Sime Darby was unchanged at RM9.10 while Petronas Chemicals gained four sen to RM6.68. -- Bernama



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Media Shoppe faces query as shares jump

The Media Shoppe Bhd, a developer of Internet sites, doubled to 18 sen, headed for its highest close since Dec 11, 2007. This prompted the stock exchange regulator to issue a query on the stock’s unusual market activity, according to a company statement.



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