Sentiments Turning Cautious

• The absence of follow-though buying interest beyond the 1,700 psychological level saw the FBM KLCI (-0.2%) erasing some of its previous session’s gains after lingering mostly in the negative territory on Monday. The lower liners – the FBM Small Cap (-0.8%), FBM Fledgling (-0.3%) and FBM ACE (-1.6%) all retreated after erasing all their intraday gains, while the broader market also finished mostly lower.

• Market breadth turned negative as decliners overcame advancers on a ratio of 550-to-301 stocks, while 351 stocks closed unchanged. Traded volumes fell 9.3% to 2.25 bln shares amid the change in market sentiment.

• Hartalega (-16.0 sen) topped the local bourse decliners list, followed by Malaysia Airport Holdings (-15.0 sen), Press Metal (-11.0 sen), Top Glove (-9.0 sen) and Hong Leong Bank (-8.0 sen). Notable decliners on the broader market were Batu Kawan (-30.0 sen), Rapid Synergy (-29.0 sen), Heineken (-20.0 sen), Can-One (-16.0 sen) and Imaspro (-15.0 sen).

• Plantation companies like United Plantations (+80.0 sen), Chin Teck Plantations (+35.0 sen), Genting Plantations (+20.0 sen) and Negri Sembilan Oil Palms (+20.0 sen) advanced, while Suiwah Corporation jumped 50.0 sen after receiving a privatisation proposal from its major shareholder. Key winners on the FBM KLCI were Petronas Dagangan (+24.0 sen), Nestle (+20.0 sen), PPB Group (+16.0 sen), Axiata (+6.0 sen) and Digi (+5.0 sen).

• Asian benchmark indices closed mostly lower as the Nikkei fell 0.6%, dragged down by the stronger Japanese Yen against the Greenback. The Shanghai Composite declined 0.2%, but the Hang Seng Index (+0.03%) edged marginally higher to record its fourth consecutive winning day. ASEAN stockmarket, meanwhile, closed mostly lower yesterday.

• U.S. stockmarkets started off the week on a dour note as the Dow fell 0.8% on weaker-than-expected earnings from Caterpillar. The negative market sentiment was also compounded by the U.S. move to file criminal charges on Huawei – intensifying the political uncertainty with China. On the broader market, the S&P 500 slipped 0.8%, while the Nasdaq closed 1.1% lower.

• Earlier, European indices – the FTSE (- 0.9%), CAC (-0.8%) and DAX (-0.6%), all closed lower as investors turned cautious on the looming trade talks between the U.S. and China. Notable decliner was Tesco PLC (-1.7%) after it planned to close 90 stores and slash 9,000 jobs as part of its turnaround effort.

The Day Ahead

• With no follow through buying amid fresh concerns the trade talks between the U.S. and China, we think that the insipid trend is likely to persist for longer. As it is, geopolitical concerns between the above countries are lifted a notch after the U.S. pressed charges against a key person of China’s Huawei. At the same, the effects of the trade war is biting with corporate earnings of some U.S. blue chips affected by the slower trade.

• The slew of less-than-savoury market developments is set to dampen sentiments on Bursa Malaysia further and with few domestic leads, the downside is set to continue with profit taking activities likely to escalate ahead of the Lunar New Year break next week. The supports are at 1,694 and 1,690 respectively. Meanwhile, the 1,700 points level remains the formidable level to clear, with the next resistance pegged at 1,710.

• The lower liners and broader market shares are also seeing increased profit taking activities which we see persisting over the near term as retail players close out some of their position ahead of the Lunar New Year break. At the same time, the FBM Small Cap index’s recent runup has left it overbought and a pullback is due.

COMPANY BRIEF

• Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) has received a Letter of Acceptance (LoA) from Projek Lintasan Kota Holdings Sdn Bhd to undertake Package CA2 of the Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang Elevated Expressway (SUKE) project worth RM323.0 mln. The project is scheduled to be completed by 3rd April 2020, about 14 months from the date of site possession on 4th February 2019. (The Edge Daily)

• FGV Holdings Bhd is collaborating with South Korea-listed Samyang Foods Co Ltd to establish a halal ramen manufacturing facility in Malaysia for local and global markets. The partnership is in-line with FGV’s plans to expand its downstream business by diversifying its product offerings and penetrating into new markets.

• Both parties have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the opportunities in establishing the halal ramen and instant noodle manufacturing plant in Malaysia. (The Star Online)

• Sapura Energy Bhd’s shareholders have given their approval for the group’s jointventure (JV) with OMV Aktiengesellschaft, which will see OMV purchasing a 50.0% stake in Sapura Upstream Sdn Bhd for US$975.0 mln (or RM4.0 bln).(The Star Online)

• AirAsia Group Bhd‘s Malaysian, Indonesian and Philippine operations carried 16.0% more passengers to 12.1 mln in 4Q2018, compared to 10.4 mln a year ago. Meanwhile, available seat per kilometre (ASK) also rose 14.0% Y.o.Y, however, passenger load factor fell to 84.0% (-4.0%) as a result of a significant increase in capacity of 21.0% Y.o.Y.(The Star Online)

• S P Setia Bhd has completed the issuance of RM358.1 mln worth of Islamic medium-term notes that will be used to finance the purchase of a project land in Semenyih, Selangor. The notes were issued under an unrated sukuk programme by its unit KL East Sdn Bhd. (The Edge Daily)

• Tex Cycle (M) Bhd has announced that the commencement of feed-in-tariff for its renewable electrical energy power plant in Selangor has been delayed once again as the group is still waiting for the initial operation date (IOD) from the relevant authorities.

• To recap, the group had received the greenlight from the Sustainable Energy Development Authority Malaysia (SEDA) to build and operate the power plant, which will have a capacity to supply two megawatt per hour of electricity to Tenaga Nasional Bhd.

• The IOD was initially set for 7th December 2017, with the commencement of the feed-in tariff on 28th January last year. Subsequently the IOD was pushed to 7th December and the commencement of the feed-in tariff to 21st January 2019. (The Edge Daily)

• Eduspec Holdings Bhd has fixed the issue price of its proposed private placement shares at two sen per share.

• The placement is priced at a discount of 8.3% to its five-day volume weighted average price of 2.18 sen as at 25th January 2019. The private placement, which was proposed on 6th September, 2018, comprises 138.5 mln shares (or 10.0% of the group’s total share capital). (The Edge Daily)  

Source: Mplus Research - 29 Jan 2019