Previous Day Highlights

FBM KLCI closed lower due to late selling activities amid holiday-shortened week. The benchmark index was down 0.25% or 3.60 pts to close at 1,450.78. Gainers were seen in health care (+0.99%), utilities (+0.94%), and construction (+0.68%); while losers were seen in plantation (-0.54%), financial services (-0.34%), and transportation (-0.28%). Market breadth was negative with 426 losers against 397 gainers. Total volume stood at 2.93bn shares valued at RM1.97bn.

Major regional indices trended mixed. SHCOMP dropped 0.68%, to close at 2,898.88. Nikkei 225 up 0.16%, to finish at 33,305.85. STI ended almost unchanged at 3,139.98. Meanwhile, HSI was closed for boxing day.

Wall Street closed higher driven by hopes of rate cuts by Federal Reserve. The DJIA added 0.43%, to end at 37,545.33. Nasdaq rose 0.54%, to close at 15,074.57. S&P500 gained 0.42%, to finish at 4,774.75.

News For The Day

MAHB's Nov passenger movement up 22.3% YoY to 9.6m

Malaysia Airports Holdings (MAHB) saw a 22.3% YoY increase in passenger movement in both its Malaysian and Turkish airport network, reaching 9.6m passengers in November, compared to 7.86m YoY. MAHB disclosed that Malaysia monthly passenger traffic accounted for 6.6m passengers, while the remaining 3m passengers came from the Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport. -The Edge Markets

Mercury Securities revenue up 19% QoQ

Mercury Securities Group has declared its maiden dividend of 0.5 sen per share, its 3QFY1/24 revenue rose 19.9% QoQ on higher brokerage fees, underwriting and placement fees. Quarterly revenue rose to RM8.71m, from RM7.26m QoQ. Profit before tax prior to one-off listing expenses stood at RM4.6m, down from RM4.91m QoQ, due to credit loss provisions and higher headcounts as part of efforts to enhance capacity. Including listing expenses of RM3.93m, Mercury Securities booked a net loss of RM422,000 in 3QFY24, compared net profit of RM3.73m QoQ. -The Edge Markets

Gabungan AQRS claims RM89m from Econpile

Gabungan AQRS is claiming RM89.74m from Econpile Holdings for what it alleged was wrongful termination of a sub-contract under Package SUKE-CA3 of the Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang Elevated Expressway (SUKE) project in 2016. The subcontract, worth RM389.07m, was to complete the foundation for the SUKE project. It was awarded by AQRS' unit Gabungan Strategik SB (GSSB) to Econpile (M) SB (EMSB) and its joint venture (JV) partner China Communication Construction Company (M) SB (CCCC) back in Dec-2016. -The Edge Markets

SSF 2QFY24 revenue falls 20% QoQ on weaker sales

SSF Home Group which listed in October 2023, saw its 2QFY4/24 revenue fall 20.3% QoQ to RM31.23m, from RM39.31m, due to lower sales contribution from retail outlets. It booked a net loss of RM3.64m in 2QFY4/24, mainly due to one-off listing expenses of approximately RM3.2m incurred for the current quarter.-The Edge Markets

Marine & General sells vessel for RM27.2m

Marine & General's indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, TKH Marine (L) Ltd, disposed of its vessel, JM Sutera 7, for US$5.8m (RM27.2m) cash to an external party, Narsimhaa Shipping Inc, Liberia, on a willing buyer and willing seller basis. It said the disposal of the vessel would enable the group to realise its original investment in the vessel that it acquired back in March 2018. -The Star

Our Thoughts

Wall Street maintained its Santa Claus rally as the enthusiasm on US equities continue pushing the 3 major indices near their respective all-time high. However, some see the uptrend may have been overdone if and when the Federal Reserve decides to prolong its rate adjustments. Nonetheless, the DJI Average gained almost 160 points while the Nasdaq added 81 points with the US 10-year yield declined marginally lower at 3.897%. The Hong Kong market was closed for Boxing Day yesterday and will resume trading today. On the home front, the FBM KLCI fell to just above the 1,450 level. There was no follow through buying on local stocks amid a slow trading day yesterday. Though we expect some accumulation on banking stocks to emerge following a week of decline, overall sentiment may still be lacklustre hence we expect the index to hover within the 1,450-1,460 range today.

Source: Rakuten Research - 27 Dec 2023

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