HEADLINES

Economy

US: Will not accept Chinese imports decimating new industries, Yellen says. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned China that Washington will not accept new industries being decimated by Chinese imports, as she wrapped up four days of meetings to press her case for Beijing to rein in excess industrial capacity. Yellen told a press conference that US President Joe Biden would not allow a repeat of the "China shock" of the early 2000s, when a flood of Chinese imports destroyed about 2m American manufacturing jobs. (Reuters)

EU: German industrial output growth accelerates; exports fall. Germany's industrial production growth accelerated more than expected in Feb but exports declined amid rising imports, pushing the trade surplus below expectations, official data revealed. Industrial output posted a monthly growth of 2.1%, following a revised 1.3% rise in January, Destatis reported. This was much faster than economists' forecast of 0.3% expansion and also marked the second consecutive increase. Nonetheless, on a yearly basis, industrial production plunged 4.9% after easing 5.3% a month ago. (RTT)

EU: Eurozone investor confidence strongest since early 2022 – Sentix. Euro area investor confidence strengthened for the sixth month in a row to reach a 26-month high in April as expectations turned positive for the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine. The headline investor sentiment index advanced to -5.9 in April from -10.5 in March, data from the behavioral research institute Sentix showed. This was the highest score since Feb 2022. The expectations index also hit the highest level since Feb 2022. (RTT)

Japan: Real wage decline likely to keep its central bank on hold for now. Japanese workers’ real wages fell in Feb for a 23rd consecutive month after consumer price growth accelerated, exerting a drag on spending, in an outcome that will likely keep the central bank on hold for now. Real cash earnings for workers dropped 1.3% from a year earlier, the Labour Ministry reported, a steeper decline than in the previous month. Economists forecast a 1.4% retreat. Nominal wages grew 1.8%, in line with the consensus estimate. The latest decline in real wages comes as growth in consumer prices accelerated to 2.8% in February, the quickest pace since Nov. (Bloomberg)

Thailand: PM says central bank should cut rates to help economic revival. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said the central bank should cut its key interest rate by at least a quarter point this week, to support government efforts to revive Southeast Asia's second-largest economy. "Given the inflation numbers, which are still negative, my expectation is perhaps not even 0.25 (point cut), maybe 0.5, because it's long overdue. It should have been cut since late last year," Srettha, 62, told Reuters in an exclusive interview. The BOT has so far resisted government pressure to ease policy, holding it benchmark interest rate at 2.50% in Feb, the highest in more than a decade. (Reuters)

Philippine: Central bank keeps rates steady, flags delay to cuts. The Philippine central bank kept its benchmark rate steady at 6.5% for a fourth straight meeting and signalled that interest rate cuts would start later rather than at an earlier stage due to upside risks to inflation. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona told a press briefing upside risks to inflation, driven mainly by an increase in rice prices have "become worse" making policymakers "somewhat hawkish than before". "We're not gonna do it (cut rates) by the third quarter. (Reuters)

India: Inflation likely cooled in March, albeit slightly - Reuters poll. India's consumer price inflation likely eased to a five-month low of 4.91% in March but was still above the Reserve Bank of India's 4% medium-term target as food price rises persist, according to economists polled by Reuters. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said last week that food price volatility remains a concern. Food price rises have outpaced headline inflation for several months, affecting millions of poor households already heavily dependent on government food subsidies. (Reuters)

Markets

Awantec: Appeals RM232m award over termination of RM3.5bn SKIN project. After winning RM231.55m in its lawsuit against the government over the termination of the RM3.5bn National Immigration Control System (SKIN) project in March, AwanBiru Technology (Awantec) is now appealing the decision. In a bourse filing, its wholly owned unit Prestaring Skin SB (PSKIN) has filed an appeal against the High Court’s decision to award the company one-third of the RM733m it had claimed. (The Edge)

SCIB: Gets revised RM162m contract for PR1MA housing project in Kelantan. Sarawak Consolidated Industries (SCIB) has secured a RM162m revised contract from AUEI Teras Holding SB for the Perumahan Rakyat 1 Malaysia (PR1MA) affordable housing scheme in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. The industrialised building systems specialist said the contract will see SCIB delivering 632 residential units within a 36-month construction period, followed by a 24-month defect liability period. (StarBiz)

SBH Marine: Sees no issues with Red Sea crisis, to pass on increased shipping cost to exporters. Newly listed frozen seafood company SBH Marine Holdings, which gained 20.45% on its Bursa Malaysia debut, has seen the shipping cost to its overseas markets increase amid the Red Sea crisis, according to its executive director Saw Leng Hean. (The Edge)

EVD: Gets RM59.64m smart building contract. EVD’s whollyowned subsidiary, EV-Dynamic SB, has been awarded a subcontract worth RM59.64m from Sunway Construction SB to design, supply, deliver, install, test and commission of smart building and security services. The duration of the sub-contract is approximately 21 months from Jan 5, 2024 to Oct 31, 2025. (StarBiz)

Pan Malaysia Holdings: Shareholders advised to reject takeover offer. Pan Malaysia Holdings’s minority shareholders should reject the takeover offer from new major shareholders, its independent adviser said. The six sen price tag is at significant discount to the counter’s share price, and the stock will still be traded on the open market after the offer closes, according to DWA Advisory SB, which had been appointed to evaluate the offer. (The Edge)

Sunzen Biotech: Shuts down animal health division. Sunzen Biotech has announced it is shutting down its loss-making animal health division as part of efforts to bring up the group's financial performance. The group noted that the animal health unit had incurred losses over the past five financial years amid a challenging business environment. In the financial year ended Dec 31, 2022 (FY22), the division made a revenue contribution of RM5.84m, representing 6.01% of the group's revenue on a consolidated basis, while pre-tax loss stood at RM4.67m. (StarBiz)

NationGate: ACE Market-listed NationGate seeks transfer to Main Market. Electronic manufacturing services NationGate Holdings, which was listed over a year ago in Jan 2023, said it plans to transfer its listing status from the ACE Market to the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia. NationGate stated that it has met the requirements issued by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) for the proposed transfer, including equity requirement, public shareholdings spread, along with a healthy financial performance. (The Edge)

MARKET UPDATE

The FBM KLCI might open within a tight range today after US stocks were essentially unchanged at the close of a choppy session on Monday, with a solar eclipse offering distraction ahead of crucial inflation data and the kick-off of first-quarter earnings season. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11.24 points, or 0.03%, to 38,892.80. The S&P 500 lost 1.95 points, or 0.04%, at 5,202.39 and the Nasdaq Composite added 5.44 points, or 0.03%, at 16,253.96. Earlier in Europe, the STOXX 600 index had closed up 0.47%.

Back home, Bursa Malaysia closed higher on Monday, in sync with most regional markets spurred by the upbeat momentum on Wall Street last Friday. At the closing bell, the FBM KLCI gained 4.73 points, or 0.30%, to 1,559.98 from Friday’s close of 1,555.25. This marked the highest point for the index this year since February 27 when it stood at 1,558.8. In the region, Hang Seng Index gained 0.05% while ASX 200 added 0.2%.

Source: PublicInvest Research - 9 Apr 2024