Previous Day Highlights

FBM KLCI closed higher fostered by strong buying in banking stocks. The benchmark index was up 1.39% or 22.95 pts to close at 1,675.24. Nonetheless, majority of sectors were negative with property (-3.2%), technology (-2.8%), and energy (-2.4%) leading the losses; while gainers were seen in financial services (+2.8%), and plantation (+1.1%). Market breadth was negative with 783 losers against 407 gainers. Total volume stood at 3.96bn shares valued at RM4.63bn.

Major regional indices trended mixed. HSI declined 1.02%, to end at 17,692.45. SHCOMP dropped 0.40%, to close at 2,837.43. Nikkei 225 was up 0.22%, to finish at 38,371.76. STI slid 0.22%, to close at 3,391.03.

Wall Street closed lower ahead of Nvidia’s earnings report. The DJIA dropped 0.39%, to end at 41,091.42. Nasdaq eased 1.12%, to close at 17,556.03. S&P500 eased 0.60%, to finish at 5,592.18.

News For The Day

Public Bank’s 2Q net profit higher at RM1.78bn

Public Bank’s 2QFY24 net profit jumped 10.08% YoY to RM1.78bn. The bank declared an interim dividend of 10sen per share, representing 56.5% of the group’s net profit for the 1HFY24. The dividend will be distributed on Sept 23, 2024. Public Bank expects the operating environment in Malaysia to remain conducive to growth in the banking sector, underpinned by resilient private expenditure and investment activities. -The Star

KPJ Healthcare’s 2Q net profit up 62%

KPJ Healthcare’s 2QFY24 net profit increased 61.9% YoY to RM75.8m. The group declared a second interim dividend of 1sen per share for the FY24, payable on Oct 4. Going forward, KPJ Healthcare said it continues to embark on its strategic initiatives, which include asset optimisation, bed expansion and talent acquisition. - The Edge Markets

Genting Plantations 2Q net profit higher at RM85.1m

Genting Plantations’ 2QFY24 net profit rose YoY to RM85.1m driven by gains in the plantation segment. An interim single-tier dividend of 8sen per ordinary share has been declared, payable on Sept 30, 2024. On prospects, the group anticipates tracking the performance of its mainstay plantation segment for the rest of the year, which is in turn dependent principally on the movements in palm product prices and the group’s FFB production. - The Star

Farm Fresh’s 1Q net profit grows 4-fold to RM26m

Farm Fresh’s 1QFY3/25 net profit grew 4-fold YoY to nearly RM26m as significantly higher sales were bolstered by decreased costs. It did not declare any dividend during the quarter under review. Profits were also boosted by contributions from its Inside Scoop and Sin Wah ice cream outlets, as well as improving margins from its Australian operations. - The Edge Markets

T7 Global 2Q net profit up 65%

Energy solutions provider T7 Global’s 2QFY24’s net profit rose 65.3% YoY to RM10.6m driven by improvements in both the energy and industrial solution segments. No dividend was declared for the current quarter under review. The group CEO confident that the energy segment and industrial solution segments will continue to drive the group’s performance, supported by multiple projects currently in the pipeline. - The Edge Markets

Our Thoughts

Wall Street closed lower as traders are bracing for the results from Nvidia. As such, the DJIA declined 159 points while the Nasdaq lost 199 points as the US 10-year yield was flat at 3.839%. Nonetheless, despite Nvidia’s earnings beating street’s estimates aftermarket, the stock’s futures price was down by almost 7% at time of writing as many were disappointed by the company’s forecast coupled by the over expectations from traders. Over in Hong Kong, the HSI declined ahead of Nvidia’s results amidst the sustainability of the AI-driven rally. However, the market’s weakness was limited by share buy-back from JD.com and Anta. Back home, the FBM KLCI maintained its uptrend to close above the 1,670 mark, a level last seen in 2019. Despite the impressive performance by the blue chips, we noticed sentiment towards the mid and small caps remained uninspiring as most ended lower. Although daily volume traded improved, it was insufficient to prop up the broader market. Despite the 40 points jump in the benchmark index since last Friday, we continue to stay positive and believe that liquidity will eventually cascade down to the broader market. For today, we expect the index to hover within the 1,670-1,680 range.

Source: Rakuten Research - 29 Aug 2024

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