Unisem slides on Q3 profit decline

Unisem (M) Bhd, a Malaysian semiconductor assembler, fell the most in more than a month in Kuala Lumpur trading after it said third-quarter profit dropped 90 percent to RM5.27 million.

The stock slid 5.6 percent to RM1.19 at 9:02 a.m. local time, set for its steepest decline since Sept. 26. -- Bloomberg

GPRO falls after yesterday's 29% surge

GPRO Technologies Bhd, a Malaysian information technology company, fell in Kuala Lumpur trading after it said it isn’t aware of a reason to account for yesterday’s 29-percent surge in its shares.

The stock dropped 4.1 percent to 23.5 sen at 9:20 a.m. local time.

CIMB Research has technical sell on AMMB

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 2): CIMB Equities Research has a technical sell on AMMB HOLDINGS BHD [] at RM5.94 at which it is trading at a FY 12 price-to-earnings of 11 times and price-to-book value of 1.7 times.

It said on Wednesday that prices broke below the key support trend line at RM6.00 in September to a low of RM5.30, but the current rebound has taken prices back up to retest this support turned resistance level. Failure to push past this resistance would signal that prices are ready to turn down once more.

“Both the indicators still in mildly positive mode but they are now heading into strong resistance levels themselves. So, it would be better to for the bulls to be prepared,” it said.

CIMB Research said the current rebound to retest RM6.00 should be viewed as a chance to sell. As long as prices remain below RM6.00, the short term odds favour the bears. RM5.00-RM5.08 is next target below the recent swing low. Otherwise, it could test the RM6.15-RM6.30 resistance next.

CIMB Research has technical sell on Envair

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 2): CIMB Equities Research has a technical sell on at Envair Holdings at 41.5 sen at which it is trading at a price-to-book value of 5.7 times.

It said on Wednesday the stock recently formed a tweezer top pattern following the formation of two graveyard doji patterns in a matter of weeks. We expect this reversal pattern to kick in soon.

“Technical landscape is beginning to weaken with its MACD histogram starting to ease. Its RSI also sports a bearish divergence signal.

“Traders would likely be better off taking profits now as the tweezer top would likely send prices back lower towards the 31.5 sen levels and possibly even the 26.5 sen to 28 sen levels. A breakout above 44 sen may delay this pullback for a while longer,” it said.

CIMB Research has technical sell on Takaso Resource

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 2): CIMB Equities Research has a technical sell on Takaso Resources at 17 sen at which it is trading at a price-to-book value of 1.0 times.

It said on Wednesday Takaso appears to be forming a bearish flag pattern and could soon complete this pattern.

“Once completed, prices are more likely to fall once more towards the 11.5 sen low again. A break below 15.5 sen would likely increase the selling pressure on the stock,” it said.

CIMB Research said both indicators look to be reversing after testing their respective resistances.

“Avoid buying now. Any rebound should be used as a chance to sell into higher prices. A breakout above 23.5 sen may postpone the fall for a couple of months,” it said.

HDBSVR: KLCI to fall below 1,475

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 2): Hwang DBS Vickers Research expects the Malaysian stock market will probably come under extended selling pressures on Tuesday following the overnight fall on Wall Street.

It said the FBM KLCI is expected to drop below the immediate support level of 1,475, possibly falling towards the next support line of 1,445 ahead.

“Essentially, sentiment will be clouded by a bearish external backdrop after Greece’s government surprised the financial markets by calling for a referendum on its latest bailout package, which could derail the European rescue plan,” it said.

HDBSVR said in reaction, major equity indices on Wall Street slumped between 2.5% and 2.9% last night, as investors also wait for the outcome of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee later Wednesday night.

“Hoping to buck the weak market pattern today are stocks like: (a) SapuraCrest Petroleum, which has been awarded a contract worth US$1.4b by Petrobras to charter and operate three vessels; and (b) Supermax, after proposing a 1-for-1 bonus issue and a share buyback programme,” it said.

Stocks to watch: SapuraCrest, Shell Refining, Unisem, DiGi

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 1): Global markets fell on Tuesday after Greece’s Prime Minister George Papandreou decided to let Greeks vote on a bailout package -- a move that stunned markets and threw Greece's euro zone membership into question.

At Bursa Malaysia, blue chips fell following concerns about the impact of Greece decision, sending the FBM KLCI down 16.25 points to 1,475.64 and erasing hopes of an extended rally in November.

The major decliners were BAT, GENTING BHD [], Petronas Dagangan, MISC, RHB Capital, Lafarge Cement, Bursa and AirAsia.

For Wednesday, sentiment could continue to be cautious after Tuesday’s mixed corporate announcements.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks tumbled on Tuesday after investors were blindsided by a surprise call for a Greek referendum on an EU bailout plan, casting doubt on the sustainability of the recent market rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 297.05 points, or 2.48 percent, at 11,657.96. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 35.02 points, or 2.79 percent, at 1,218.28. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 77.45 points, or 2.89 percent, at 2,606.96.

However, an assurance from the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) chief executive officer Datuk Seri Idris Jala could help provide some support as the country strengthens its economy. Idris said on Tuesday that investments realised under the Economic Transformation Programme for the first half of 2011 amounted to RM10 billion, which accounted for 64% of the RM15 billion investments committed for 2011.

Among the stocks to watch are SAPURACREST PETROLEUM BHD [], Shell Refining Company (Federation of Malaya) Bhd, UNISEM (M) BHD [], DIGI.COM BHD [], SUPERMAX CORPORATION BHD [] and PUNCAK NIAGA HOLDINGS BHD [].

SapuraCrest Petroleum announced its unit TL Offshore Sdn Bhd has secured a US$1.5 billion contract from Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras).

TLO was awarded a contract to charter and operate three pipe laying support vessels for US$1.4 billion. SapuraCrest said one of the vessels would be built in Brazil and the two others outside Brazil.

Shell Refining reported net losses of RM134.08 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2011 compared with net loss of RM19.46 million a year ago. The main factors were weak refining margins and lower production due to the statutory major turnaround completed in July.

Its cost of sales was RM3.265 billion compared with RM2.675 billion a year ago. Revenue was however higher by 16% to RM3.069 billion against RM2.646 billion a year ago. Loss per share was 44.69 sen compared with 6.49 sen.

Unisem (M) Bhd’s earnings fell 89.7% to RM5.27 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2011 from RM51.53 million a year ago and cautioned demand for the group’s products and services to remain weak for the next quarter due to global economic uncertainty. Its revenue dropped 22.2% to RM288.19 million from RM370.69 million.

DiGi.com is on track to distribute about RM509 million to its shareholders by the first half of 2012 under the proposed capital distribution.

Supermax proposed a corporate exercise involving a one-for-one bonus issue and also to buy back up to 10% of its paid-up share capital.

Puncak Niaga is selling all its Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn Bhd (PNSB) debt notes to Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd (PAAB) for RM328.12 million.

KL shares end lower on profit-taking

KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices on Bursa Malaysia ended sharply lower today on profit-taking amid the uncertainty in the short-term market outlook, dealers said.

The FBM KLCI fell 16.25 points, or 1.1 per cent, to close at 1,475.64, after opening 7.76 points lower at 1,484.13.

The benchmark index hovered between 1,474.61 and 1,485.9 as continuous selling pressure dragged it into negative territory.

Dealers said the market started the new trading month on broadly weaker sentiment led by the consumer and services sectors.

The manufacturing sector was also affected after the release of weak manufacturing figures from China.

China's purchasing managers index for October fell to 50.4 in October from 51.2, reflecting the slow pace of China's manufacturing expansion.

TA Securities senior technical analyst, Stephen Soo, said the market has reached 'overbought' position after a strong rally, so profit-taking was not a surprise.

"The investors also took their cues from Wall Street's losses due to weak leads from European markets as Greece government announced that the country would hold a referendum on a new aid package," he told Bernama here today.

The overall market sentiment was negative with losers led gainers by 583 to 198 while 213 counters were unchanged, 476 untraded and 20 others suspended.

Trading was moderate with a volume of 1.19 billion shares worth RM1.29 billion compared with 1.33 billion shares worth RM1.58 billion yesterday.

The Finance Index fell 60.83 points to 13,433.37, Industrial Index eased 33.40 points to 2,692.24 and the Plantation Index dropped 80.34 points to 7,484.96.

The FBM Emas decreased 116.61 points to 10,052.71 and the FBM 70 Index declined 148.39 points to 10,806.78.

The FBMT100 fell 114.42 points to 9,873.79 and the FBM Ace Index slipped 48.07 points to 3,983.37.

Among losers, Panasonic Manufacturing fell 32 sen to RM19.70, Litrak dropped 17 sen to RM3.47 and Innoprise Plantations slipped 15 sen to RM1.35.

Of the actives, GPRO rose 5.5 sen to 24.5 sen, MBSB-Wa increased half sen to 91 sen and Maxbiz gained three sen to 12 sen.

Among top gainers, F&N rose 20 sen to RM17.20, Hong Leong Bank increased 12 sen to RM10.72 and Jaya Tiasa added 11 sen to RM5.82.

In heavyweights, Maybank gained one sen to RM8.37, CIMB lost eight sen to RM7.49 and Sime Darby was down five sen to RM8.85.

Volume on the Main Market decreased to 916.54 million shares valued at RM1.25 billion from 1.06 billion shares valued at RM1.54 billion on Monday.

Turnover on the ACE market increased to 166.23 million units worth RM27.52 million from 156.02 million units worth RM26.49 million previously.

Warrants slipped to 107.83 million shares valued at RM10.16 million from 111 million units valued at RM8.38 million yesterday.

Consumer products accounted for 64.55 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products 212.6 million, construction 47.63 million, trade and services 271.32 million, technology 36.63 million, infrastructure 16.4 million, finance 136.63 million, hotels 458,600, properties 91.7 million, plantation 28.79 million, mining 33,000, REITs 2.49 million and closed/fund 27,000. - Bernama