Economy

US: Factory orders fall as expected in Feb. New orders for US made goods fell in Feb, likely because of persistent shortages of materials and a shift in spending back to services, but manufacturing remains supported by low inventories at businesses. The Commerce Department said that factory orders fell 0.5% in Feb. Data for Jan was revised slightly higher to show orders rising 1.5% instead of 1.4% as previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast factory orders would decline 0.5%. (Reuters)

EU: Eurozone investor confidence lowest since July 2020 - Sentix. Eurozone investor confidence collapsed in April, falling to its lowest level since the middle of 2020 to signal the start of a recession as high inflationary pressures and supply concerns due to the Ukraine war clouded the outlook, results of a closely-watched survey showed. The investor confidence index dropped to -18 from -7 in March, the behavioural research institute Sentix said. Economists had forecast a score of -9.2. The latest reading was the lowest since July 2020, Sentix said. The index dropped for a second straight month. The Sentix survey was conducted from March 31 to April 02, among 1,249 investors. The current situation index of the survey fell to -5.5 from 7.8, to mark the lowest level since April last year. The expectations measure tumbled to -29.8 from -20.8, logging its weakest reading since December 2011. (RTT)

EU: German government bond yields edge lower, focus on ECB speakers. Euro zone yields edged lower as bond markets consolidated after monetary tightening expectations drove German borrowing costs to their highest since Feb 2018. Most analysts expect German yields to stay around the current levels in the short term, as the downside risks to the economy due to the Ukraine conflict will moderate the European Central Bank’s (ECB) commitment to tame inflation. Germany’s 10-year government bond yields, the benchmark of the bloc, fell 1 basis point (bps) to 0.55%. Investors watched for ECB speakers after German yields in March set their most significant monthly rise since 2009. “Even if driven primarily by energy, the March 7.5% harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) print will probably prevent (ECB officials) from pushing back against, excessive in our view, rate hike expectations,” ING analysts said in a note. (Reuters)

EU: Germany exports rebound in Feb. German exports rebounded at a stronger-than-expected pace in Feb, data from Destatis showed. Exports grew 6.4% on a monthly basis, reversing a 3.0% fall in Jan. Shipments were forecast to climb 1.5%. Likewise, imports advanced 4.5% in Feb, in contrast to the 4.0% fall a month ago. Economists had expected a monthly growth of 1.4%. As a result, the trade surplus rose to a seasonally adjusted EUR 11.5bn from EUR8.9bn in Jan. This was also well above the economists' forecast of EUR9.6bn. On a yearly basis, exports grew 14.4% after rising 11.1% in the previous month. At the same time, growth in imports moderated to 24.5% from 25.9%. The unadjusted trade surplus totalled EUR11.4bn versus a EUR17.9bn surplus in the same period last year. (RTT)

Japan: Household spending rises 1.1% on year in Feb. The average of household spending in Japan was up 1.1% on year in Feb, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said coming in at JPY257,887. That missed expectations for a gain of 2.7% and was down from the 6.9% increase in the previous month. On a monthly basis, household spending sank 2.8% - again missing forecasts for a decline of 1.5% after contracting 1.2% in Jan. The average of monthly income per household stood at JPY540,712, down 0.1% from the previous year. (RTT)

Australia: Services sector ebbs in March - S&P Global. The services sector in Australia continued to expand in March, albeit at a slower rate, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed with a services PMI score of 55.6. That's down from 57.4 in Feb, although it remains well above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. This marked the second consecutive month in which business activity in the Australia service sector rose. Growth of new work continued for a second straight month in March, having been adversely affected by the Omicron wave outbreak in Jan. The rate of growth slowed when compared to Feb, however, with anecdotal evidence pointing to higher costs and domestic flooding issues as factors weighing on demand. That said, foreign demand for Australian services improved for the first time since June 2021 on the back of easing border restrictions. (RTT)

Australia: Retail sales growth accelerates in Feb. Australia retail sales grew at a faster pace in Feb, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. Retail sales advanced 1.8% in Feb from Jan, when turnover was up 1.6%. This was the second consecutive rise in sales. On a yearly basis, retail sales growth improved to 9.1% from 6.3% in Jan. The monthly growth was largely driven by sales of clothing, footwear and personal accessory, which grew 11.2% and department store sales moved up 11.1%. (RTT)

Markets

Mah Sing: Plans to launch RM2.4bn worth of properties this year. Property developer Mah Sing Group plans to launch RM2.4bn worth of properties this year including several projects in Selangor, Penang and Johor. Mah Sing is also focusing on acquiring land suitable for affordable products in Greater Kuala Lumpur, the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor. Meanwhile, the company had fully redeemed RM650m nominal value of unrated senior perpetual securities (perpetuals) on its first call date of April 4, 2022. (The Edge)

MGRC: Gets Covid-19 surveillance contract from MoH’s biomedical research arm. Malaysian Genomics Resource Centre (MGRC) has secured a Covid-19 surveillance contract from the Institute for Medical Research (IMR), the biomedical research arm of the Ministry of Health (MoH). The genomics and biopharmaceutical specialist is one of the private laboratories that IMR has engaged to outsource genome surveillance of SARS-CoV-2. (The Edge)

KPS: Bags RM18.14m supply and delivery of water meters contract. Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor (KPS) has secured a RM18.14m contract for the supply and delivery of water meters. KPS entered into a framework agreement (FA) with Pengurusan Air Selangor (Air Selangor) for the supply and delivery of water meters for new development, meter migration and replacement programme of 15mm plastic, 15mm brass, 25mm brass and 40mm brass water meter. (The Edge)

BIMB: Bank Islam, AKPK sign MoU to expand financial management education for individuals, SMEs. Bank Islam Malaysia (Bank Islam) and the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency (AKPK) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to expand financial management education for individuals, as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The programme is for the benefit of its SME customers and will be conducted by AKPK representatives from modules developed by Bank Islam and AKPK. (The Edge)

Berjaya Sports Toto: Now known as Sports Toto. Berjaya Sports Toto said the change of its name to Sports Toto has come into effect. It received the notice of registration of the new name, pursuant to Section 28 of the Companies Act 2016 issued by the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM), on April 1. The group had previously announced that the change of name would take effect from the date of issuance of the notice of registration. (The Edge)

Pintaras: Secures piling contracts worth RM90m. Pintaras Jaya has secured three new piling contracts worth a total of RM90m in Singapore. The projects have commencement dates in May 2022 with contract periods varying from three to four months. Pintaras expects the contracts to contribute positively to its FY22 earnings. (StarBiz)

Tomei: Proposes three sen dividend for FY21. Tomei Consolidated has proposed a first and final dividend of three sen per share for the FY21. It paid 2 sen dividend per share for FY20. For FY21, Tomei posted a 5% increase in net profit to RM32.77m, from RM31.17m in the previous year. Revenue rose 33% to RM736.07m from RM552.4m. (The Edge)

Market Update

The FBM KLCI might open higher today after global stock markets rallied on Monday, with strong gains for technology stocks offsetting concerns about a potential escalation of sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine. The tech-dominated Nasdaq Composite index climbed 1.9%. Twitter jumped more than a quarter after filings revealed Elon Musk, Tesla chief executive, had become the social media group’s largest shareholder, while Chinese tech groups such as Pinduoduo and JD.com leapt on optimism that they could avoid being delisted from US markets. More than 250 Chinese companies face losing their US listings under rules that require companies to provide detailed audit documents to the US accounting watchdog. Chinese confidentiality laws have previously prevented local companies from sharing documents with overseas authorities, but on Saturday the China Securities Regulatory Commission said it would change the law. The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 added 0.8%.

Back home, Bursa Malaysia bucked the regional market trend to end slightly lower on Monday, weighed down by profit taking in selected heavyweights amid cautious trading mode. At 5pm, the benchmark FBM KLCI was 3.49 points easier at 1,598.92 from 1,602.41 at Friday's close. Major indices in Asia closed with gains. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.7%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up almost 0.3%. Markets in mainland China were closed for a holiday. Hong Kong stocks led gains in the region. Technology stocks were among the biggest advancers, boosted by hopes that a potential compromise by China over audit inspections could help avert the eventual delisting of U.S.-listed Chinese stocks. The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 5.4%, while the city’s main Hang Seng Index rose 2.1%.

Source: PublicInvest Research - 5 Apr 2022