MY Closing Bell Reviews | CANT STAND STILL AT 1450, KLCI DROPS 3.35 POINTS

As the Fed stands pat as expected, but hints at future rate hikes, prompting the overnight decline in the three major U.S. stocks and Thursday's Asian stocks.

The Malaysian stock market also could not escape the negative sentiment. Although it opened higher this morning, it quickly slipped, falling below the key level of 1450. However, compared to regional stock markets, the Malaysian stock market's decline was relatively mild.

Total volume for the day amounted to 3.2 billion shares, with a turnover of 2.1 billion ringgit.

FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI, closing at 10726.65 points, down 28.39 points.

362 stocks rose, 549 fell, 487 remained unchanged, and 976 did not trade.

At 5 pm, 1 US dollar exchange rate against Ringgit was at 4.6890 level.

The BMI under the auspices of Fitch Solutions believes that although the dust has settled after the 6 state elections, the ruling coalition's power has not been shaken on the surface, the government still faces numerous challenges in policy making, and short-term political risk remains high.

The institution stated that although the state election results are the same as the previous general election, the state election results have shown a significant increase in support for the National Front in 6 states, with Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu winning 95% of the seats. While state elections do not directly impact national administration, they act as a barometer of voter sentiment.

BMI expects that with the significant increase in the National Front's support rate, the National Front's weight and influence in parliament will also increase, posing a challenge to the central government in policy making.

Given the lower-than-expected performance of the Hope Alliance, we believe that the Unity Government will propose more favorable policies for the indigenous people to improve support from the Malay voters.

However, if the Unity Government intensifies the implementation of favorable policies for the indigenous people, it will undoubtedly contradict the promises made based on pre-election demands. Additionally, racial policies will strengthen the position of the National Front.

This will escalate the relationship between the parties within the Unity Government, including the Sarawak Parties Alliance (GPS) and the Sabah People's Alliance (GRS), leading to a slowdown in reforms.

Furthermore, the government's withdrawal of corruption charges against leaders from the National Front and UMNO, including Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, has also sparked backlash.

The Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) has consequently withdrawn support for the Unity Government, causing the Anwar Ibrahim-led government to lose two-thirds of its seats (148 seats) advantage.

BMI stated that although this may not easily shake Anwar's position as Prime Minister, "withdrawing prosecution will raise doubts among the public about Anwar's determination to combat corruption."

In fact, both the opposition and allied parties have expressed doubts about Anwar's anti-corruption efforts.

BMI believes that if the withdrawal of prosecution is hastily handled, the Hope Alliance risks losing its current support, accelerating internal divisions, and slowing down Anwar's reform agenda.

While the political performance is disappointing, our country's inflation and labor market performance slightly soothe people's confidence.

Our current inflation rate has dropped to 2.0%, a new low in 23 months, indicating that the current country's interest rates are still positive and also representing the end of monetary tightening policy.

Furthermore, the labor market is booming, with a labor participation rate reaching 70.1% as of July 2023, hitting a historical high.

Overall, BMI gives a high score of 71.7 for our country's short-term political risk index (out of 100), indicating that short-term political risk remains relatively high.

The decision-making process score has previously dropped to 53.3, indicating that our country's governance still faces many obstacles.

As for Malaysia's social stability score, it stands at 67.5, still in a comfortable position.

This car manufacturer, who is not profitable yet, is targeting its loyal customers with this phone. The phone can sync with Nio Inc's cars to act as a car key, view battery charging information, and control functions like self-parking and in-car entertainment systems.

Nio Inc unveiled this Android-based smartphone at the 'Innovation Technology Day' event in Shanghai, with a starting price of 6499 RMB (approximately 41.7 million Ringgit), placing it in the same range as Huawei's latest flagship product, Mate 60 Pro.

Founder and CEO, Li Bin, mentioned during the event his hope for this phone to seamlessly integrate with Nio Inc's cars, providing a better user experience for car owners.

The phones will be sold through Nio's online store, but initial delivery quantities may be limited due to supply constraints.

Despite a recent rebound in monthly delivery volumes, Nio Inc's shipment volume for the first eight months of this year is only 94,352 units, less than half of the annual target of 0.25 million units.

In order to boost sales and improve the balance sheet, the company has lowered prices, reduced customer benefits, introduced upgraded models, and delayed some investments.

Country Garden General Manager Liu Yide stated at a press conference after the shareholders' meeting yesterday that the Diamond City project, started in 2014, has now been 70% to 75% completed. Financially self-sufficient, it will not be dragged down by any unilateral issues from Country Garden.

"Our joint project Diamond City with Country Garden is still ongoing. So far, Country Garden's financial issues have not had any impact."

Liu Yide pointed out that the Diamond City project is divided into Block A and Block B. The development of Block A was fully completed in earlier years, while the first, second, and fourth phase projects of Block B have been completed and sold out, all terraced houses.

"We are constructing and selling the 201 terraced houses of the fifth phase project, and currently 163 have been sold, slightly above 80%."

Next quarter's revenue increased by 3.08 times to 92.29 million8000 ringgit.

Looking at the first half of the year, revenue increased by 2.03 times to 0.1 billion51.84 million4000 ringgit; net profit also increased by 2.07 times to 14.15 million5000 ringgit.

As of the end of July, the company's outstanding orders amount to 1.5 billion ringgit.

Looking ahead, the company stated that it will continue to monitor the business environment, cautiously manage financial matters, and promote sustainable growth.

According to the press release, the above-mentioned contract is part of the Peninsular Malaysia Maintenance, Construction, and Modification (PM-MCM) works for Package C in East Malaysia. Originally valid from 2018 to 2023, the contract will now be extended by 1 year, 5 months, and 21 days, until December 31, 2024.

The contract does not have a fixed amount and will depend on the amount of work received by Dayang Enterprise during the contract period.