Review & Outlook

Blue chips rose for a third straight session on Thursday, with gains led by the transportation, construction and industrial products & services sectors due to bargain hunting interest in data-centre linked counters. The FBM KLCI gained another 10.66 points to end at the day's high of 1,585.17, off an early low of 1,573.90, as gainers led losers 489 to 388 on a slightly higher turnover of 2.93bn shares worth RM2.11bn.

The local market may enter consolidation mode ahead of the weekend, with investors sidelined ahead of the release of key U.S. employment data tonight for clearer direction on the Federal Reserve's future interest rate policy. Immediate index resistance is maintained at 1,605, with next upside hurdles at 1,630, followed by 1648. Immediate support remains at 1,550, with stronger supports at the 6/8/24 low of 1,529 and 1,500 psychological level.

Duopharma have a good potential recovery upside to the 38.2%FR (RM1.28), while a confirmed breakout should target the 50%FR (RM1.34) and 61.8%FR (RM1.40) going forward, with downside cushioned by retracement support at the lower Bollinger band (RM1.19) and RM1.15. Pharmaniaga is breaking out from current consolidation, with near-term upside target at the 50%FR (36sen), followed by tougher hurdles at the 61.8%FR (40sen) and 76.4%FR (44sen) ahead, while key uptrend supports come from the 23.6%FR (28sen) and 25sen.

News Bites

• Notion Vtec Bhd is acquiring four hectares of vacant freehold agricultural land in Kapar, Klang, for RM29.6mn to support its manufacturing expansion.

• Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Perak and Gamuda Bhd have signed an exclusive agreement to develop infrastructure addressing water shortages in Northern Perak.

• Inari Amerton Bhd's profit margins are expected to be diluted in the coming years due to capital expenditure plans for advanced packaging solutions, aiming to expand into the logic and memory segment of the tech sector.

• Icon Offshore Bhd will be traded under its new name, Lianson Fleet Group Bhd, effective Feb 7. Its new stock short name is LFG, while the short name for its warrants A 2020/2028 is LFG-WA. The company's stock number remains 5255.

• Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd's wholly owned unit, BIMB Holdings Sdn Bhd, has partnered with RELDYN Tech Sdn Bhd to establish a fintech entity, FINODYN Sdn Bhd.

• Northern Solar Holdings Bhd is seeking additional solar projects from the public and private sectors following updated self-consumption programme guidelines.

• Zecon Bhd has signed a non-binding MoU with Sabah state-owned Petrosabah Sdn Bhd to explore a large-scale floating solar project in Lahad Datu.

• IHH Healthcare Bhd is seeking up to ?109.3bn (RM5.7bn) in compensation from Japan's Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd over its stake acquisition in India's Fortis Healthcare.

• MN Holdings Bhd has terminated its partnership with Intelligent Pie Consulting Sdn Bhd, aimed at securing operational technology cybersecurity tenders.

• Scomi Energy Services Bhd will be delisted from Bursa Malaysia on Feb 12 after failing to submit a regularisation plan within the deadline.

• Bina Puri Holdings Bhd is restructuring its loan with Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Bhd after the bank filed a winding-up petition on Tuesday.

• Khazanah Nasional Bhd's profit from operations fell to RM5.1bn from RM5.9bn in 2023, with MD Datuk Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir attributing the higher 2023 profits to exceptional items, including RM1.8bn from PLUS bond monetisation.

• Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd reported a net loss of RM1.2bn, widening from RM780.3mn in FY23, driven by impairment loss, higher associate losses, forex impact, and increased finance costs and expects the global macroeconomic environment to remain volatile in the near term.

• British American Tobacco (M) Bhd posted a 3.4% YoY increase in 4QFY24 net profit to RM49.0mn from RM47.4mn, supported by higher yearend seasonal sales but offset by higher tax expenses.

• The Bank of Japan's most hawkish board member Naoki Tamura flagged the need for two or more interest rate hikes by early next year to contain upside risks for prices.

• Initial claims for state unemployment benefits in the US rose 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 219,000 for the week ended February 1.

Source: TA Research - 7 Feb 2025