Ingress advances on investors' interest

Ingress Corporation Bhd shares extended its gains as at 10am, rising two sen to 79 sen with 299,100 shares traded, as promising earnings attracted investors' interest in the stock.

After securing a RM84.8 million contract from Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd (Proton) last week, Ingress' subsidiaries yesterday landed power management contracts worth RM55 million from Tenaga Nasional Bhd.

Ingress said the power management projects would comprise the establishment of PMU 132kV Kota Setar Applied Innovative Services Rehab and 132kV Lines Diversion at PMU Kota Setar.

It also includes the proposed 275kV Bulk Supply to Bahru Stainless (Extension of 2 x 275kV Overhead Line Bays at PMU275/132/22 kV Cahaya Baru).

Ingress, involved in the power engineering sector said both projects, scheduled to commence in the first quarter of financial year ending Jan 31, 2013 was expected to contribute positively to group earnings. -- Bernama



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Residential property mart seen 'encouraging'

The residential property market is expected to remain rather encouraging next year as consumers start to focus on affordable homes.

OSK Research Sdn Bhd said the fact that most of recent launches were of units in the high-end segment could signal that the upcycle is at its tail-end and developers were rushing to capture any remaining upside before the sentiment for such properties turns sour.

"Subsequently, we expect developers to shift to the more affordable mass-market housing segment to tap into the high demand by first-time young buyers," it said in a research note today.

The shift became more apparent recently when high-end developers such as SP Setia and Mah Sing acquired sizeable pieces of land in the Klang Valley for developing townships that offered affordable housing.

"For those which remain focused on the high-end market, we see them offering smaller housing units with the aim of making the price per unit appear more affordable," it said.

OSK maintained a "neutral" call on the property sector, on the fact that property counters tend to underperform or market perform when sentiments weaken. -- Bernama



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KLCI slips back to below 1,500-level at mid-morning

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 28): The FBM KLCI slipped below the 1,500-point level at mid-morning on Wednesday in light volume as investors remained cautious in line with the overall weaker sentiment at regional markets.

The FBM KLCI fell 5.21 points to 1,495.70 at 10am.

Losers beat gainers by 188 to 150, while 199 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 205.18 million shares valued at RM100.26 million.

Asian shares eased on Wednesday in low volume with many market players away for year-end holidays, while oil slipped after surging the day before on concerns about supply disruptions after Iran threatened to stop the flow of oil from the Gulf, according to Reuters.

US stocks ended little changed on Tuesday after low market liquidity dampened activity and snapped a four-day rally that turned the broad Standard & Poor's 500 Index positive for the year, it said.

At the regional markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.48% to 18,540.22, Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 0.01% to 8,439.60, South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.01% to 1,823.50, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.26% to 2,160.50 and Taiwan’s Taiex shed 0.09% to 7,078.30.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s Straits Times Index edged up 0.06% to 2,675.23.

BIMB Securities Research in a note Wednesday said that though there are no new developments from the Eurozone, the situation remains very much embedded in many thoughts.

Whilst many investors are still in a holiday mood, trading volume on equity markets declined with most ended the day flat in Europe, it said.

The research house said the Italians are preparing for a €20 billion 10-year bonds auction at a high yield of 7% or above.

Over in the US, investors had been digesting data from improved consumer confidence and declining home prices and as a result, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the session flat, it said.

“Asian bourses were generally weaker from the lack of fresh catalysts. As for Malaysia, the FBM KLCI finally managed to breach the 1,500 mark albeit marginally.

“It will be interesting to see if the index is able to sustain above this level in a run-up towards 2012. We believe it could!” it said.

On Bursa Malaysia, BAT topped the losers at mid-morning and fell 34 sen to RM48.66; Batu Kawan was down 30 sen to RM17.20, Dutch Lady 20 sen to RM23, UMW 15 sen to RM6.83, KLK and Top Glove fell 12 sen each to RM22.44 and RM4.82, Nestle and Telekom lost 10 sen each to RM56.70 and RM4.90, Harvest Court nine sen to RM1.01 and SapuraCrest seven sen to RM4.50.

Gainers included Multico, United PLANTATIONs, Petronas Gas, DKSH, KrisAssets, Harrisons, Tan Chong, Kretam, Metrod and Fima Corp, while the actives included Proton, JCY, Utopia, Vastalux, Emico and Astral Supreme.



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Multi Sports rises on Taiwan proceeds

Multi Sports Holdings Ltd, a Chinese maker of shoe soles, rose 1.3 percent to 40.5 sen at 9.50am, headed for its highest close since Dec. 20.

The company received proceeds from its offering of Taiwan depositary receipts, which will be listed in Taipei on Dec. 30, according to a Kuala Lumpur stock exchange filing. -- Bloomberg



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Metrod continues ascend after disposing Austrian units for RM202.2m

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 28): Metrod (Malaysia) Bhd shares advanced on Wednesday after the company said it was set to realise a gain of about RM74.5 million from the disposal of its Austria-based units for RM202.2 million (€49 million).

At 9.25am, Metrod added five sen to RM2 with 7,000 shares traded.

It said on Tuesday that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Metrod (Singapore) Ptd had entered into an agreement with GEP II Beteiligungs GmbH to dispose ASTA Holdings GmbH and ASTA Elektrodraht GmbH.



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Multi-Code gains on Q1 profit surge

Multi-Code Electronics Industries Bhd, a Malaysian auto parts maker, rose the most in two weeks in Kuala Lumpur trading after fiscal first-quarter profit surged 80 percent to RM3.2 million.

The stock gained 12 percent to 75 sen at 9:08 a.m. local time, set for its steepest increase since Dec. 13. -- Bloomberg



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Xian Leng hits 29-month low on Q3 loss

Xian Leng Holdings Bhd, a Malaysian exporter of Arowana fish, fell to a 29-month low in Kuala Lumpur trading after reporting a loss of RM58.8 million in the third quarter.

The stock slid 5.3 percent to 36 sen at 9:02 a.m. local time, set for its lowest close since July 14, 2009. -- Bloomberg



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Ingress Corp extends gains on positive news flow

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 28): INGRESS CORPORATION BHD [] shares extended their gains in early trade on Wednesday as a slew of positive news flow piqued investors’ interest in the stock.

At 9.05am, Ingress rose 3.5 sen to 80.5 sen with 91,800 shares traded.

On Tuesday, Ingress Corp said its subsidiaries via their joint venture had secured contracts worth a total RM55 million from TENAGA NASIONAL BHD [].

Last week, Ingress received a letter of acceptance from Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd (Proton) with a total value of RM84.8 million over a period of five years to supply parts for new Proton models.



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