KL stocks higher at midday

Improved investor risk appetite pushed Bursa Malaysia to extend gains at midday today, led by Tasek Corporation, Batu Kawan and Petronas Gas, dealers said.

Reversing losses incurred earlier this week, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) at 12.30 pm rose 7.04 points to 1,557.53, after opening 5.14 points lower at 1,484.81.

Affin Investment Bank head of retail research Dr Nazri Khan said the performance of the local bourse was now steadier on the back of an improved market sentiment globally.

Robust economic data from the United States and renewed hope that Greece would secure a long-awaited bailout next week, lifted the performance of global equities markets.

"The uptrend today was in line with our expectation that the market will rebound after the correction that took place this week.

"We anticipated the correction phase. The risk appetite is now stable amid an improved regional sentiment," he told Bernama.

The Finance Index added 61.71 points to 13,833.65, the Plantation Index increased 35.819 points to 8,830.39 and the Industrial Index climbed 21.54 points to 2,912.79.

The FBM Emas Index went up 48.29 points to 10,828.64, the FBM Mid 70 Index edged up 46.20 points to 12,330.29 and the FBM Ace added 28.66 points to 4,684. Gainers outstripped losers 426 to 232 with 349 counters unchanged. A total of 1.213 billion shares worth RM880.561 million were traded.

Among active stocks, Tasek Corporation added 49 sen to RM8.49, Batu Kawan gained 34 sen to RM19.86 and Petronas Gas advanced 22 sen to RM16.58.

For the heavyweights, Maybank rose four sen to RM8.54, Sime Darby increased nine sen to RM9.63, Petronas Chemicals was unchanged at RM6.88 and CIMB went up two sen to RM7.27. -- Bernama



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Markets firmer, rotational play of penny stocks

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 17): Key Asian markets except China were firmer at midday on Friday, as investors were relieved that Greece had finally implemented measures to secure a second bailout.

At Bursa Malaysia, the FBM KLCI rose 7.04 points or 0.45% to 1,557.53. Turnover was 1.21 billion shares valued at RM880.56 million. Advancing stocks beat decliners nearly two to one, with 426 gainers to 232 losers. Rotational play was seen in several penny stocks which had been under the radar for several months such as PDZ, GPA, IPower and Marco.

Among key regional markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.68% to 9,393.50, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.70% to 21,425.90, Taiwan’s Taiex 0.12% to 7,879.30 and South Korea’s Kospi 1.48% to 2,027.05 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index 0.47% to 2,991.23. However, Shanghai’s Composite Index lost 0.14% to 2,353.51.

April Brent crude oil futures rose 17 cents to US$120.28 while US light crude oil added 14 cents to US$102.45.

The ringgit gained 0.0107 to 3,0485 to the US dollar. Crude palm oil third-month futures rose RM22 to RM3,211 per tonne.

At Bursa Malaysia, Tasek was the top gainer, up 49 sen to RM8.49 with 64,500 shares done after it declared dividends totaling 86% despite weaker earnings.

Among the index-linked stocks, GENTING BHD []’s 18 sen gain to RM10.70 pushed the KLCI up 1.57 points.

Tenaga saw some recovery, rising 10 sen to RM6.10 on news that the recommended price of natural gas is being finalised and is scheduled to be presented to the Cabinet by the end of March. The framework will decide how much should be borne by Tenaga, independent power producers (IPPs) and end- consumers.

Sime rose nine sen to RM9.63. Among the banks, HLFG added 22 sen to RM11.76, Maybank four sen to RM8.54, Public Bank six sen to RM13.70 and CIMB two sen to RM7.27.

Among PLANTATION []s, Batu Kawan added 34 sen to RM19.86, TDM 14 sen to RM4.84 and IOI Corp three sen to RM5.44. BLD Plantations fell 28 sen to RM9.72 in thin trade and United Plantations 12 sen lower at RM22.54.

Dialog-WA extended its rally for the third day, adding 17 sen to 83 sen with 62.71 million units.

Rotational play was seen in related penny stocks with PDZ to the fore, adding five sen to 13.5 sen with 95.16 million shares done, GPA 1.5 sen to 10.5 sen and IPower one sen to 5.5 sen and Marco-WA adding one sen to 7.5 sen.

Among the decliners were MUH, sliding as much as 22 sen to 38 sen, while Nestle gave up 16 sen to RM55.34 and BAT 12 sen to RM52.18 while Hartalega gave up some of the recent gains, down eight sen to RM7.74.



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RAM Ratings to maintain surveillance on Silver Bird Group’s RM30m debt notes

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 17): RAM Rating Services Bhd will continue to monitor the A2/Negative/P2 rating of SILVER BIRD GROUP BHD []’s RM30 million commercial papers/medium-term notes programme (2005/2012).

The ratings agency also said on Friday it had received confirmation that Silver Bird Group fully redeemed the last tranche of its RM70 million serial bonds (2005/2012) on Jan 13, ahead of the debt facility’s maturity date of Feb 15.

RAM said the facility has been cancelled and it no longer has any rating obligation on the serial bonds which had been previously rated A2, with a negative outlook.



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HwangDBS maintains 'hold' call on BAT

British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd's (BAT) lower profit after tax of RM180.6 million for the fourth quarter of last year was within expectations, says HwangDBS Vickers Research.

HwangDBS, in a research note here today, said the fourth quarter's profit after tax was reduced by 1.1 per cent, on a year-on year (y-o-y) basis, with shipment volume at 0.7 per cent higher to 2.04 billion sticks y-o-y.

It noted that for the financial year ended 2011, the company's y-o-y profit after tax declined by 1.6 per cent to RM719.6 million on the back of a 4.1 per cent y-o-y increase in the company's revenue.

Moving forward, the research firm said 2012 would be a challenging year for BAT as the illicit trade was firm at 36.1 per cent last year against 36.3 per cent in 2010 and its market size had shrunk by 3.2 per cent in 2011.

Meanwhile, HwangDBS has maintained a "hold" call for the company with a target price of RM46.60 based on BAT's announcement for its fourth interim dividend of 66 sen per share. -- Bernama



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Uzma up on RM350m Carigali contract win

Uzma Bhd, an oil and gas engineering-services provider, jumped 5.8 per cent to RM2.01, headed for its highest close since July 28.

The company won a RM350 million contract from Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd to provide well- testing equipment and services, it said in a statement. - Bloomberg



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Tasek advances on dividends plan

Tasek Corp, a cement maker, advanced 7.5 per cent to RM8.60, on course for its highest close since May 16.

The company declared a special dividend and a final dividend totaling 80 sen per share, according to a filing to the exchange. - Bloomberg



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CI Hldgs surges as Q2 net jumps

CI Holdings Bhd, a manufacturer of building and construction-related products, surged 9.6 per cent to RM1.37, bound for its highest close since November 23.

Its second- quarter net income jumped to RM650.4 million from RM11.3 million a year earlier after making a RM710.9 million gain from selling a beverages business, according to a stock-exchange filing. - Bloomberg



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CI Holdings climbs on dividend plan

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 17): Shares of CI Holdings Bhd climbed in mid-morning on Friday after it declared a dividend of RM4.60 per share totaling RM653.20 million.

At 10.32am, CIH was up 11 sen to RM1.36 with 6.45 million shares done.

The FBM KLCI rose 8.03 points to 1,558.52. Turnover was 686.25 million shares valued at RM474.41 million. There were 382 gainers, 150 losers and 310 stocks unchanged.

CI Holdings announced net profit of RM650.39 million in the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2011 from RM11.17 million a year ago, boosted by the disposal of its Permanis Group to Asahi for RM820.0 million cash.

Its revenue declined slightly to RM11.35 million from RM11.96 million a year ago due to a slowdown in the CONSTRUCTION [] sector.

The improvement in profit before tax was due largely to income received from the disposal of Permanis of RM688.43 million.



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