Previous Day Highlights

20 January 2025 FBM KLCI closed higher driven by bargain hunting activities. The benchmark index was up 0.72% or 11.18 pts to close at 1,566.72. Majority of sectors were positive with technology (+1.1%), energy (+1.1%), and industrial products & services (+0.8%), leading the gains; while losers were seen in REIT (-0.2%), and plantation (0.0%). Market breadth was positive with 549 gainers against 433 losers. Total volume was 3.11bn shares value at RM3.11bn.

Major regional indices trended positively. HSI gained 0.31%, to end at 19,584.06. SHCOMP increased 0.18%, to close at 3,241.82. Nikkei 225 eased 0.31%, to finish at 38,451.46. STI rose 0.25%, to close at 3,810.78.

Wall Street closed higher as big banks began Q4 earnings season on a high note. The DJIA added 0.78%, to end at 43,487.83. Nasdaq rose 1.51%, to close at 19,630.20. S&P500 rose 1.00%, to finish at 5,996.66.

News For The Day

Dialog joins Petronas Gas' LNG air separation project.

Petronas Gas wholly owned subsidiary Regas Terminal (RGTP) has executed and completed a share subscription agreement with Dialog Equity (Three), for the development of Malaysia’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG)-driven air separation unit (ASU) in Pengerang, Johor. The final investment decision on the ASU project target commercial operation date in Nov 2026. The total awarded engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning (EPCC) cost is RM368m. – The Star

HeiTech Padu, Datasonic awarded fresh contracts

HeiTech Padu has secured a second-time contract extension for the provision of maintenance services for the Malaysian Immigration System (MyIMMs), valued at RM28.3m. That same month, the company secured the much-coveted RM892.2m National Integrated Immigration System (NIISe) project. Meanwhile, Datasonic Group has secured a fresh contract worth RM6.4m from the Home Ministry for the maintenance of the facial live capture (FLC) system at Immigration Department offices. - The Edge Market

Homeritz hit by RM3m loss in Muar facility fire

Homeritz Corp confirmed that the fire was caused by a spark from a switch at the duct conveyor spray booth at one of its production facilities in Muar, Johor, has been confirmed to result in an estimated loss of RM3m, and will be recognised in the company’s 2QFY8/25 financial results. None of the workers were injured from the incident. – The Edge Market

Mitrajaya bags RM375.5m data centre contract

Mitrajaya Holdings’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Pembinaan Mitrajaya has accepted a RM375.5m contract from NEXTDC for the construction of a data centre in KL. NextDC first announced its entry into the Malaysian market in 2023 with a plan to develop a data centre facility in Kuala Lumpur. The company had said that it will invest RM3bn in the country over the next 5 to 20 years. - The Star

Malaysia lifts suspension of bird’s nest exports to China

Bird's nest processor MYMBN said that the Department of Veterinary Services Malaysia has lifted the temporary suspension of exports of both raw-cleaned edible bird’s nest (RCEBN) and raw-uncleaned edible bird’s nest (RUCEBN) products to China after nearly one month. This is expected to bring major relief to MYMBN, given that China is a primary market for the group. – The Edge Market

Our Thoughts

Wall Street closed broadly firmer as sentiment improved following a tame set of inflationary data recently. Nonetheless, the US 10-year yield remains high at 4.623% while waiting for Trump’s inauguration today. Meanwhile in Hong Kong, the HSI ended higher spurred by the higher than expected China’s growth, but further gains were weighed of its sustainability and the plunge in China Vanke, one of China’s largest property developers. Back home, the FBM KLCI finally ended higher after some massive foreign outflows over the past week. However, market undertone remains weak following the recent development on chips limitation plus the impacts on the local construction scene especially for the Data Centre segment. For today, we believe bargain hunting to persists as recent selling may have been overtone thus expect the index to hover within the 1,570-1,580 range.

Source: Rakuten Research - 20 Jan 2025

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