MY Morning Wrap | Foreign Shareholders Expected to Benefit from Gaming Sector
Good morning mooers! Here are things you need to know about today's market:
●S&P 500 near all-time high while bostic touts caution
●Robust net profit for banks in final quarter
●Investment momentum stays strong for Malaysia
●Malaysia continues to register soft exports in Nov
●Foreign shareholders expected to benefit from gaming sector
●Stocks to watch: TT Vision
-moomoo News MY
Wall Street Summary
U.S. stocks were maintaining their upward momentum Tuesday, with the S&P 500 index just shy of its record as investors keep cheering the chances of Federal Reserve rate cuts next year and an economy that keeps chugging.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US$ added 251 points, or 0.68% to 37,557. The $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US$ climbed 0.59%, 36 points away from a record high of 4,804. The $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US$ gained rose 0.66% at 15,003. The Nasdaq100 hit an all-time high.
Breaking News
Robust net profit for banks in final quarter
The banking sector is expected to post robust net profit growth in the final quarter of 2023. This is supported by the absence of prosperity tax, resilient loans growth, and benevolent treasury market conditions, Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research says. However, the brokerage argued that the outlook for the first half of 2024 would likely be muted due to continued net interest margin (NIM) compression, the tapering growth of non-interest income (NOII) and lack of non-cash charge (NCC) write-backs. Overall, HLIB Research expected the sector's earnings growth to slow to 5% in 2024 against 14% in 2023. The sector's return-to-equity ratio was also seen narrowing 10 basis points (bps) to 9.3%, it said.
Investment momentum stays strong for Malaysia
Malaysia continues to chart a strong upward trajectory in garnering investments from both global and domestic investors. UOB Research said that for the first nine months of 2023 (9M23), the country saw a 6.6% increase year-on-year (y-o-y) in terms of total committed investments to RM225bil from RM211bil previously. This involved 3,949 investment projects that are expected to create 89,495 job opportunities in the country (9M22: 2,918 projects and 99,305 jobs). The services sector (RM117.7bil or 52.3% share) continued to be the top beneficiary, followed by the manufacturing (RM99.8bil or 44.4% share) and primary (RM7.4bil or 3.3% share) sectors.
Malaysia continues to register soft exports in Nov
Malaysia recorded negative trade growth in November 2023 with a 2.4% decline in overall trade to RM231.79bil over the same month in 2022. In a statement, the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) said exports during the month contracted 5.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM122.1bil while imports grew 1.7% y-o-y to RM109.69bil. This resulted in a trade surplus of RM12.41bil for the month, which is the lowest surplus recorded since May 2020. "Malaysia's performance was in tandem with its key trading partners notably Taiwan, China and Indonesia, which posted negative trade growth in November 2023 and a drop in global imports," said Miti.
Foreign shareholders expected to benefit from gaming sector
The visa-free travel narrative could boost the gaming sector earnings but not in the share price performance as it would likely be overshadowed by regional competition and cheaper regional casino stocks. However, the tourism sector is likely to benefit more from the visa-free entry in Malaysia. In terms of stock valuation, TA Research observed that the share premium of Hong Kong-listed casino stocks had narrowed to less than two times price-earnings ratio multiples above Malaysia-listed casino stocks. This would be appealing to foreign shareholders, it added. The research house said that at this juncture, it does not have a strong desire for Malaysian gaming stocks, except for Genting Bhd given its potential upside of 12.5%.
Stocks to Watch
$TTVHB(0272.MY$: TT Vision Holdings Bhd said its wholly-owned subsidiary, TT Vision Technologies Sdn Bhd, has secured several purchase orders for its solar cell inspection equipment totaling RM7.51 million from an undisclosed buyer. The Penang-based automated test equipment maker did not disclose information about the buyer, citing non-disclosure agreements signed. The group said the contract is expected to be fulfilled within the next three to four months.
$POHKONG(5080.MY$: Poh Kong Holdings Bhd's net profit for the first quarter ended Oct 31, 2023 (1QFY2024) rose 21.29% to RM19 million from RM15.67 million in the previous year's corresponding quarter despite lower revenue, largely driven by an uptrend in gold prices. Quarterly revenue dipped 3.88% to RM355.98 million from RM370.36 million on lower demand for gold jewelry products amid weaker market sentiment. Compared with the immediate preceding quarter, the group's net profit is about four times the RM4.98 million it made in 4QFY2023 while revenue climbed 12.77% from RM315.66 million.
$APOLLO(6432.MY$: Shares in Apollo Food Holdings Bhd spiked to a seven-year high of RM5.78 on Tuesday's morning trade session, after it announced that Scoop Capital Sdn Bhd, the franchisee of Baskin-Robbins, is acquiring a controlling stake in the company. The counter pared its gains to end the day 37 sen or 6.9% higher at RM5.77, making it the fifth top gainer on Bursa Malaysia. Year to date, the share price has risen 48.70%. At RM5.74, its market capitalisation stood at RM459.2 million.
$DATAPRP(8338.MY$: Dataprep Holdings Bhd has proposed to acquire a 70% stake in DACS Network Solutions Sdn Bhd (DNS) for RM10.5 million from Cloudaron Group Bhd. The purchase consideration will be satisfied via the issuance of 82.68 million shares in the group at 12.7 sen per share.
$AIM(0122.MY$: Advance Information Marketing Bhd's three-for-one rights issue with free warrants has been oversubscribed by 32.9%. The group said it received valid acceptances and excess applications for a total of 388.94 million rights shares in respect of the 292.66 million shares available for subscription. The rights shares are expected to be listed on the ACE Market of Bursa Securities on Dec 28.
Source: Dow Jones Newswires, Bursa Malaysia, The Malaysian Reserve, The Star, The EDGE
Disclaimer: Moomoo Technologies Inc. is providing this content for information and educational use only.
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