Previous Day Highlights

FBM KLCI continues trending lower due to absence of fresh catalysts as investors remain cautious amid the jittery regional performances. The benchmark index lost 0.42% or 6.11 points to close at 1,464.64. Losers were led by PETDAG, PETGAS and TM. Market breadth was negative with 522 decliners against 365 advancers while 426 remain unchanged. Total volume stood at 3.57bn shares valued at RM2.19bn.

Key regional indices trended mixed as investors assessed further risks of more rate hikes following Federal Reserve’s remarks. Nikkei 225 and STI were down 0.08% and 0.86% to finish at 27,584.35 and 3,359.48 respectively. Meanwhile, HSI and SHCOMP soared 1.60% and 1.18% to close at 21,624.36 and 3,270.38 respectively.

Wall Street continue to trend lower following the last batch of corporate earnings. The DJIA lost 0.73% to finish at 33,699.88. Meanwhile S&P500 and Nasdaq were down 0.88% and 1.02% to end at 4,081.50 and 11,789.58 respectively.

News For The Day

KAB-PETRONAS Gas to co-own RM230m Sabah power plant

Kejuruteraan Asastera (KAB) and Petronas Gas have entered into a joint venture to co-own and undertake a RM230m power plant project in Sabah which will be the sole energy supplier to Petronas’ nearshore floating liquified natural gas facility. KAB’s wholly-owned subsidiary KAB Energy Holdings SB has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire a 10% stake in Petronas Gas’ subsidiary, Regas Terminal (Lahad Datu) SB, which is responsible for owning and undertaking the power plant project -The Star

QL Resources declares interim dividend of 3.5 sen

QL Resources has declared an interim dividend of 3.5 sen per share for its FY2023. The integrated agro-based business company said the dividend will be paid on March 29. The exdate is March 14. QL Resources posted its 2QFY23 net profit of RM93.9m, more than double against RM45.94m YoY, amid stronger contributions from its business segments. -The Edge Markets

Bina Darulaman wins RM34.08m contract

Bina Darulaman (BDB) has won a RM34.08m tender for a tertiary irrigation system development project in Kedah and Perlis. BDB said the project will involve strengthening and improving rice cultivation in the abovementioned states. The completion period for the project shall be 104 weeks from the date of site possession. – The Star

MyEG Philippines posts solid growth in 2022

My E.G. Services (MyEG) has delivered robust growth in the Philippines with the value of annual transactions handled surging over three-fold to a new high of about PHP5bn (US$91m) in 2022. Underpinned by strong user reception towards its offerings, MyEG Philippines’ registered volumes in 2022 that were up 40% from 2021. “As a testament to its track record, MyEG Philippines has recently secured the agreement to deliver services for the National Bureau of Investigation for another three years,” MyEG said. -The Star

Kobay Technology’s 2Q net profit falls 38%

Kobay Technology’s 2QFY6/23 net profit tumbled 37.8% YoY to RM9.03m against RM14.52m, due to the slowdown in the semiconductor market. Similarly, quarterly revenue also decreased 11.5% YoY to RM82.15m from RM92.83m. “The slowdown in the semiconductor and electrical and electronic products industries have impacted the manufacturing business to a certain extent.” -The Edge Markets

Our Thoughts

Wall Street ended lower after a strong opening as concerns emerged over the Federal Reserves’ rate adjustments may need to be higher than what the market expected. As such, the DJI Average declined 249 points while the Nasdaq lost 121 points with the US 10- year yield trended higher at 3.66%. In Hong Kong, the HSI reversed recent downtrend to close 341 points higher as the focus on tech stocks continued buoyed by the ChatGPT concept coupled with the positive effects from China’s re-opening. Back home, the selling on blue chips persisted particularly on the Telcos and Energy related stocks. The benchmark index declined for the 4th consecutive day as sentiment remains jittery due to the unrelenting selling by foreign funds as the highly anticipated bargain hunting did not materialize. We reckon the market could be waiting of the re-tabling of Budget 2023 on the 24th this month before committing. Therefore, we reckon the index will continue to trend within a narrow range of 1,460-1,470 today.

Source: Rakuten Research - 10 Feb 2023

To sign up for an account: http://bit.ly/40BNqKI
[Youtube Tutorial] Account Opening & Enable Foreign Equity: http://bit.ly/3I5Jzxo