MY Morning Wrap | YTL Power and YTL Corp Hit Fresh Record Highs on AI Hub Tie-Up with Nvidia

U.S. stock indexes traded higher on a slow Monday in the lead-up to the release of key inflation data and the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision later this week. A stronger-than-expected jobs report pushed indexes into an upward trend last week that continued into the new week.

With a new year on the horizon, the market has turned more positive on the FBM KLCI as analysts foresee the benchmark stock index to cross the psychological mark of 1,600 points in 2024. The FBM KLCI has been trading range-bound for the past one and a half years, largely between 1,400 and 1,500 points, amid foreign fund outflow driven by global monetary tightening and concerns of economic slowdown. However, the expectations of a less hostile monetary environment in 2024 and the continued recovery in both economic growth and corporate earnings could likely push the FBM KLCI further north. MIDF Research has set a year-end target of 1,665 points for 2024. UOBKH Research foresees the FBM KLCI’s year-end target at 1,605 points. Maybank IB Research opined that the benchmark stock index could reach 1,610 points by end-2024.

Malaysia's manufacturing sector sales value fell 1.4 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM156.7 billion in October 2023, mainly due to the persistent decline in the petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products sub-sector by 9.5 per cent y-o-y, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM). Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the weaker sales were also attributable to the drop in the electrical and electronics products sub-sector which shrank 2.7 per cent. Despite the y-o-y decline of 1.4 per cent in October 2023, the fall was at a smaller rate compared with the 2.4 per cent y-o-y drop in the preceding month, he said in a statement today. On a monthly basis, Mohd Uzir said the sales value in the month dipped 0.7 per cent against a growth of 3.7 per cent in September 2023 (RM157.8 million).

Foreign investors turned net selling mode last week after five-week of net buying streak, offloading RM276.4mil worth of equities on Bursa Malaysia, according to MIDF Research. Foreign investors acquired RM246.3mil worth of equities on Bursa Malaysia for the week ended Dec 1. The top three sectors with net foreign inflows last week were utilities with RM118.5mil, property with RM19.1mil and construction with RM9.4mil. On the other hand, the top three sectors with net foreign outflows were consumer products & services (-RM191.3mil), transport & logistics (-RM62.3mil) and industrial products & services (-RM48.4mil).

Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Bhd (BMD) has launched its first currency futures contract, the Mini USD/CNH Futures (FCNH) through a licensing agreement established with Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX). BMD chairman and Bursa Malaysia Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift said the FCNH contract represents a significant milestone, offering a range of benefits from mitigating counterparty credit risks to providing transparent and regulated trading opportunities.