Foreign funds bought KL shares for 3rd month

Overseas investors bought Malaysian stocks for a third straight month in December, the longest monthly streak since July, as the benchmark index posted its largest quarterly gain in more than a year.

Foreign funds purchased a net RM800 million (US$255 million) of Malaysian shares last month, according to data on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange’s website.

They bought RM700 million of stocks in November and RM1.5 billion in October. -- Bloomberg



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

KLCI rebounds in early trade as Asian stocks rise

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 4): The FBM KLCI rebounded in early trade in line with the higher opening at regional markets following the firmer overnight close at Wall Street.

Asian stocks and the euro firmed on Wednesday, as investor risk appetite returned after upbeat U.S. and European economic data boosted global shares and commodities and hopes for improved growth outlook grew despite worries over the euro zone debt crisis, according to Reuters.

The FBM KLCI was up 11.60 points to 1,525.14 at 9.05am.

Gainers beat losers by 194 to 18, while 129 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 98.88 million shares valued at RM62.41 million.

Among the early gainers were KLK, BAT, Hong Leong Bank, Allianz, DiGi, Harvest Court, Scientex, IGB, IOI Corp and Cepat.

Meanwhile, Maxbiz was the most actively traded counter after it received a letter of intent (LOI) in respect of a fibre-to-the-home and fibre-to-the-office (FTTX) contract worth RM510 million.

Maxbiz gained one sen to 18.5 sen with 10.73 million shares done.

The company had received the LOI from Fiber-N Sdn Bhd on Dec 30, 2011 for the infrastructure works for 100,000 FTTX connections on high rise residential and office buildings in Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Bahru.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

RHB Research maintains Underweight on semicon sector

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 4): RHB Research Institute is maintaining its Underweight call on the semiconductor sector as it has yet to see any strong indications that the industry is poised for a stronger recovery.

It said on Wednesday the EU debt crisis has already taken its toll on the chips demand in the region as reflected by a sharper decline of 11.5% on-year in November (versus October: 7.7%).

“Although sales of smartphones with the latest wireless chips remained the bright spot for the industry, this was not able to offset the weak demand from the broader market.

“We believe that chip sales (especially from the US and Europe regions) will be a better indicator as to whether a sustainable recovery is in sight,” it said.

On the outlook for MPI, it said although MPI was focusing on new segments such as the automotive and mobile devices (i.e. X3-MLP and MEMS), it believes the slowing consumer spending on the broader market such as PCs and consumer electronics would have bigger knock-on effects on MPI’s medium-term earnings.

“This is mainly because revenue contributions from these segments are the highest. Hence, we maintain our Underperform call on the stock and a fair value estimate of RM2.10/share based on 0.6 times forward P/BV,” it said.

RHB Research also said Unisem was not spared too despite qualifying for new customers. Unisem’s earnings visibility remains poor given weak order visibility and customers’ lower order rate despite commencing volume loading for newly acquired customers.

“We believe medium-term chips demand would remain uninspiring given weakness in end-market demand for consumer electronics and corporate IT equipment. Therefore, we reiterate our Underperform call and fair value estimate of RM0.92/share based on 0.6 times forward P/BV,” it said.

As for Notion Vtec, the research house said while it remains positive on Notion’s camera segment on the back of rising adoption of SLR cameras amongst consumers, it is wary of its renewed focus on the HDD business.

“Recall that the company incurred substantial cost increase following its capacity ramp-up of its 2.5’’ HDD in FY09/10. Furthermore, we believe demand for HDDs could be hampered in the longer term by demand for alternative storage mechanisms i.e. cloud computing and hybrid storage. Thus, we maintain our Underperform call on the stock with a fair value estimate of RM1.21/share based on 6x FY09/12 EPS,” it said.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

HDBSVR: Firmer Wall Street to boost Malaysian market sentiment

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 4): Hwang DBS Vickers Research said on Wednesday Wall Street was off to a strong start in the New Year when key U.S. equity indices jumped between 1.5% and 1.7% last night.

It said apparently, investors’ confidence was boosted by expectations that the global manufacturing sector would show promising growth this year.

“The positive external vibes could give a lift to our Malaysian bourse today. Its benchmark FBM KLCI will probably recover all the losses suffered yesterday to rise towards the immediate resistance level of 1,530 ahead,” it said.

HDBSVR said stocks that may see action today include: (a) CI Holdings, after a local daily, quoting sources, reported that the company is looking to acquire a new business soon; (b) Bonia, following its acquisition of a German leather goods maker for RM13 million; and (c) Tricubes, which has just been awarded a government contract worth RM6 million.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

CIMB Research has technical buy on Landmarks at RM1.10

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 4): CIMB Equities Research has a technical buy on Landmarks at RM1.10 at which it is trading at a price-to-book value of 0.3 times.

It said on Wednesday Landmarks has been hovering near its 30-day and 50-day SMAs after prices broke out of its wedge resistance.

“We think a base has been formed and prices are likely to push for one more upswing,” it said.

CIMB Research said the MACD has staged a positive crossover while RSI is above the 50 points mark. The next targets to beat are RM1.16 and RM1.20. The 200-day SMA at RM1.28 would also be a magnet for prices.

“Traders may start to take some position now before the next upleg kicks in. However, always put a stop at below RM1.03,” it said.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

CIMB Research has technical buy on TH Plantations at RM2.19

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 4): CIMB Equities Research has a technical buy on TH PLANTATION []s at RM2.19, at which it is trading at a price-to-book value of 1.9 times.

It said on Wednesday TH Plantations broke out of its triangle resistance on Tuesday.

“If prices can continue to hold above this level (now at RM2.17), there is a good chance that prices may push for one more upleg, possibly towards the RM2.28 high again. The following resistance levels are RM2.40 and RM2.55,” it said.

CIMB Research said the MACD signal line is poised for a positive crossover while RSI has also hooked upward. Hence, we think the bulls have the upper hand here.

It said aggressive traders may start to nibble now. However, always put a stop at below RM2.08 to keep loss tight.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

CIMB Research has technical buy on MPHB at RM2.74

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 4): CIMB Equities Research has a technical buy on MULTI-PURPOSE HOLDINGS BHD [] (MPHB) at RM2.74 at which it is trading at a price-to-book value of 1.4 times.

It said on Wednesday MPHB broke out of its downtrend channel few weeks ago and prices have been consolidating sideways since then.

“Looking at the chart, we think the stock is ripe for a stronger rebound. A break above its 200-day SMA (now at RM2.78) would catalyse its share price performance,” it said.

CIMB Research said once this level is taken out, prices are likely to charge towards the RM2.87-RM2.94 gap and RM3.03. Only a break below RM2.63 would trigger its stop.

“Technical landscape is improving. MACD signal line remains in the positive territory while RSI has hooked upward,” it said.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

Stocks to watch: Maybank, OSKVI, LBS Bina, Maxbiz

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 4): Stocks on Bursa Malaysia could open on a firmer note on Wednesday as sentiment would be underpinned by firmer external events.

Overnight on Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 179.82 points, or 1.47 percent, to 12,397.38. The S&P 500 Index added 19.46 points, or 1.55 percent, to 1,277.06. The Nasdaq Composite gained 43.57 points, or 1.67 percent, to 2,648.72.

The US market's rise was foreshadowed by a large jump in stock index futures after weekend data showed China, the world's largest consumer of metals, avoided economic contraction in December.

Though the FBM KLCI closed down 1.12% or 17.19 points to 1,513.54 on Tuesday, weighed by losses at banking and key blue chips, the broader market was steadier with gainers leading losers by 446 to 325.

Wall Street opened higher as better-than-expected Chinese and German data boosted optimism about the global economy, according to Reuters.

Among the stocks which could see trading interest are MALAYAN BANKING BHD [], OSK VENTURES INTERNATIONAL BHD [] (OSKVI), LBS Bina Bhd and MAXBIZ CORPORATION BHD [].

Maybank has been given a further extension until June 1, 2012 to sell down its stake in PT Bank Internasional Indonesia Tbk (BII).

Maybank had received a letter, dated Dec 27, from Indonesia’s Badan Pengawas Pasar Modal dan Lembaga Keuangan (Bapepam) where the latter had given it more time to undertake the corporate exercise. Maybank owns 97.5% of BII which it had acquired in 2008.

OSK HOLDINGS BHD [] director Ong Leong Huat @ Wong Joo Hwa has been buying shares of OSK Ventures International Bhd. He bought 930,000 shares on Dec 27 at 31 sen a piece and 600,000 shares the next day at an average price of 30.1 sen.

The recent acquisitions raised his direct shareholding in OSKVI to 25.86% or 50.62 million shares.

LBS BINA GROUP BHD [] is targeting RM1 billion annual property sales target in the near term as the company focuses on the various segments of the residential market apart from commercial and industrial PROPERTIES [].

Managing director Datuk Lim Hock San said LBS was expected to achieve property sales of RM800 million and RM 950 million in the financial year ending Dec 2012 and 2013 respectively.

Maxbiz has received a letter of intent (LOI) in respect of a fibre-to-the-home and fibre-to-the-office (FTTX) contract worth RM510 million.

The company had received the LOI from Fiber-N Sdn Bhd on Dec 30, 2011 for the infrastructure works for 100,000 FTTX connections on high rise residential and office buildings in Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Bahru.

ESTHETICS INTERNATIONAL GROUP [] Bhd’s rights issue of 52.80 million new shares and 52.80 million free detachable warrants were undersubscribed by 28%.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.