Previous Day Highlights

31 December 2024 FBM KLCI closed higher buoyed by year-end window dressing activities. The benchmark index was up 0.59% or 9.54 pts to close at 1,637.68. Majority of sectors were positive with construction (+1.7%), property (+1.6%), and utilities (+1.3%), leading the gains; while losers were seen in technology (-0.2%), and plantation (0.2%). Market breadth was positive with 614 gainers against 452 losers. Total volume stood at 2.55bn shares valued at RM2.09bn.

Major regional indices trended mixed. HSI declined 0.24%, to end at 20,041.42. SHCOMP increased 0.21%, to close at 3,407.33. Nikkei 225 eased 0.96%, to finish at 39,894.54. STI rose 0.64%, to close at 3,795.73.

Wall Street closed lower attributed to profit taking activities. The DJIA dropped 0.97%, to end at 42,573.73. Nasdaq eased 1.19%, to close at 19,486.79. S&P500 eased 1.07%, to finish at 5,906.94.

News For The Day

Gamuda buys land and JV for data centre project

Gamuda is acquiring 389.7 acres of land in the Springhill Industrial Park, Port Dickson for RM424.4m, cash, from a JV between MUI Properties and Chin Teck Plantations. Gamuda intends to use the land to develop cloud or data centre infrastructure. - The Edge Market

TM partners Melaka Local Council for digital shift

Telekom Malaysia and government sector solutions arm, TM One, has collaborated with the Alor Gajah Municipal Council (AGMC) and Syarikat Air Melaka (SAMB) to offer digital solutions for digital transformation. TM One has introduced the local urban observatory (LUO) smart solution, a data- driven platform designed to elevate urban monitoring and decision-making in Alor Gajah via this partnership. - The Edge Market

Yinson secures RM161.8m bareboat charter extension

Yinson Production, the offshore business arm of Yinson Holdings has secured an 18-month extension for the bareboat charter contract of its floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit operating in offshore Vietnam. The contract value, including the automatic extension period, is estimated at USD36.2m (RM161.8m), of which about USD17.7m is attributable to Yinson Production. - The Edge Market

Samaiden picked for Kelantan solar plant project

Samaiden has been selected to develop a 99.99-megawatt large-scale solar photovoltaic plant in Pasir Mas, Kelantan. The project will operate under a 21-year solar power purchase agreement between Samaiden and Tenaga, ensuring a stable and long-term revenue stream. - The Edge Market

TT Vision secures RM8.7m worth contract

TT Vision Technologies has accepted a purchase order for its machine vision equipment from a major customer for a contract value of RM8.7m. The group does not foresee any exceptional risk other than the normal operational risks associated with the supply of products. - The Edge Market

Gadang unit’s JV wins bid to develop 15MWac solar plant

Gadang and its JV partners have successfully won a bid to develop a 15-megawatt alternating current (MWac) large- scale solar (LSS) photovoltaic (PV) plant in Tawau, Sabah. Gadang is the third listed company to announce itself as a winner of the LSS Sabah project. - The Edge Market

Our Thoughts

Wall Street ended lower in a choppy session attributed to profit taking activities following a fantastic 2024 performance for US equities. All 3 major indices opened in steep losses but managed to ease the damage towards the closing with the US 10-year yield easing slightly to 4.533%. Over in Hong Kong, the HSI closed marginally lower but remains above the 20,000 mark as investors await for more clarity on the stimulus measures from Beijing while keeping an eye on the elevated US 10-year Treasury yield. On the local front, the FBM KLCI maintained its uptrend as bargain hunting activities were rather apparent. Though foreign outflows were evident, the quantum was easily absorbed. As mentioned, with the 1,630 level broken, we expect the index to possibly target 1,650 thus anticipate it to hover within the 1,635-1,650 range today, hopefully to end 2024 on a more positive note. Here’s wishing everyone a very HAPPY NEW YEAR

Source: Rakuten Research - 31 Dec 2024

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