Previous Day Highlights

14 November 2024 FBM KLCI closed higher bucking the regional trend. The benchmark index was up 0.19% or 3.07 pts to close at 1,611.50. Majority of sectors were positive with utilities (+1.0%), consumer (+0.6%), and technology (+0.5%), leading the gains; while losers were seen in plantation (-2.0%), and construction (-0.7%). Market breadth was negative with 566 losers against 435 gainers. Total volume stood at 2.83bn shares valued at RM2.25bn.

Major regional indices trended mixed. HSI declined 0.12%, to end at 19,823.45. SHCOMP increased 0.51%, to close at 3,439.28. Nikkei 225 eased 1.66%, to finish at 38,721.66. STI rose 0.24%, to close at 3,720.34.

Wall Street closed mixed as markets digested new inflation data and Fed remarks. The DJIA was up 0.11%, to end at 43,958.19. Nasdaq slid 0.26%, to close at 19,230.73. S&P500 closed flat, to finish at 5,985.39.

News For The Day

United Plantations announces special dividend & bonus issue

United Plantations announced a 60sen per share dividend payout comprising a special dividend of 20sen and an interim dividend of 40sen together with a one-for-two bonus issue, as it reported an 8.8% drop in its third quarter net profit following a jump in operating expenses. 3QFY24’s net dropped YoY to RM215m from RM235.7m, as operating expenses jumped over RM80m, though that was partly offset by higher other operating income and an increased share of results from JV. - The Edge Market

Carlsberg Malaysia invests RM343m for capacity expansion

Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia has invested RM200m to upgrade to its bottling and canning lines alongside high-precision filtration systems. The upgrades on the canning line are expected to result in an increase of 33% to its production capacity, reduction of water waste by 47%, and a cut in energy consumption by 42%. - The Edge Market

Johor Plantations 3Q’s net profit rises 13%

Johor Plantations Group is optimistic on the remaining months of the year thanks to strong prices after net profit rose 13% in the 3Q. Average selling price of crude palm oil (CPO) was up 5.7% YoY to RM4,157/tonne while that of palm kernel surged 29% to RM2,843/tonne. The company also expects “additional margins” from construction of Integrated Sustainable Palm Oil Complex and investing in partnership with Japan’s Fuji Oil Group to build a refinery producing high-value specialty oils and fats. – The Edge Market

Dayang gets two more Pan Malaysia services contracts

Dayang has secured two more contracts to provide pan Malaysia services to the national oil and gas company Petronas and its production sharing contractors. The award follows Dayang's first pan Malaysia contract announced earlier this month. Dayang could win up to three packages of MCM and HUC contracts. Altogether, there were jobs worth up to RM10bn up for grabs. - The Edge Market

VSTECS's 3Q profit rises 54%

VSTECS posted a 53.8% YoY increase in net profit 3QFY24, driven by a record-high revenue. VSTECS declared a first interim dividend of 2.8sen per share. In the enterprise systems segment, VSTECS witnessed increased orders for AI-related data centre (DC) equipment, which carries a higher value than traditional servers. - The Edge Market

Our Thoughts

Wall Street closed on a mixed note as the post-election rally lost steam while October’s CPI came in at 2.6% that is in line with consensus expectations. Meanwhile, the US 10- year yield ended higher at 4.451% despite more rate cut next month. Over in Hong Kong, the HSI continued to weaken as traders are losing patience and confidence from China’s recent below par stimulus package. In addition, traders are also concern of Trump’s backlash when he comes into office in 2025. On the home front, the FBM KLCI finally ended above the 1,610 mark attributed to late buying activities. Based on current level, the market is hovering at CY2024 PER of 15.0x or 13.8x premised on CY2025 earnings. Therefore, we believe the local bourse to be reasonably valued and expect buyers to emerge anytime soon. As such, we expect the index to trend within the 1,610-1,620 range today.

Source: Rakuten Research - 14 Nov 2024

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