MY MIDDAY INSIGHTS | MAYBANK DROPS THE MOST, KLCI DROPS 2.02 POINTS

US stocks had mixed ups and downs overnight, but due to soaring energy prices, the Core Inflation Index (CPI) rose faster than expected, opening the door for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.

However, the overall sentiment of Malaysian stocks is quite stable, and most stocks are still rising moderately.

As of the closing of the market at 12:30 p.m., the Composite Index closed at 1451.52 points, down 2.02 points, or 0.14%.

The half-day trading volume was 1.6 billion shares, with a transaction value of RM1 billion.

The FTSE Malaysia All Stock Index closed at 10703.63 points, down 2.38 points.

There were 407 rising stocks, 355 falling stocks, 422 had no ups or downs, and 1,150 had no transactions.

As of 12:30 p.m., the ringgit was reported at 4.6818 to 1 US dollar.

As Chinese government agencies began to take action to prevent employees from bringing iPhones to work, triggering a chain reaction in the technology sector. Analysts believe this will likely drag down Malaysian technology supply chain stocks and impact net profit performance.

China is reportedly preparing to expand the scope of restrictions on the use of iPhones by government departments and state-owned enterprises. This indicates that the challenges faced by Apple in China will be greatly intensified, and at this stage, some government agencies have begun requiring employees not to bring iPhones to work.

According to data from the China Bureau of Statistics, 5% of China's 38 million government officials currently use iPhones, or 1.9 million units, accounting for 0.8% of Apple's annual shipments. As a result, CIMB research analysts believe that the Chinese government's move to ban officials from using iPhones will only have an impact of about 1% on iPhone shipments every year.

However, as the scope of the ban may be extended to Chinese state agencies and the emergence of new Huawei 5G flagship smartphones, it may eat away at the iPhone's market share in China.

The European Union has launched an investigation into China's subsidies for electric vehicles. This group of countries is worried about the competitiveness of the local industry.

European Commission President von der Leyen announced the investigation on Wednesday, saying the global market is flooded with cheap Chinese cars.

“Car prices have been artificially depressed due to huge government subsidies. This is distorting our markets,” von der Leyen said in his annual address to the European Parliament.

“Just as we don't accept this distortion from within the market, we also don't accept this distortion from outside.”

The EU launched an investigation despite the possibility of China's retaliation, which shows that the ability of European manufacturers to compete with China is becoming increasingly worrying.

The subsidiary Mutu Nusantara Private Limited was awarded an agreement by Taraf Nusantara Private Limited (TNSB).

Under the agreement, the company will be responsible for providing 33 kilowatt (kV) cable link engineering services for the Taman Lagenda residential development project.

The statement indicated that implementation of the relevant project will begin this month and is expected to be completed in one year.

Luo Chongxi, managing director of MN Holdings, said that with this agreement, the company's order will increase to RM365.77 million, which also highlights the company's ability to provide integrated solutions for substation engineering projects.