Stocks may extend their consolidation in this week, starting Aug 9 as investors stay cautious following slower economic growth in the US while they also await the bulk of the corporate results due in August.
On Wall Street, stocks fell on Friday after government data showed a larger-than-expected drop in July payrolls, giving investors a stark reminder the economic recovery remains slow.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 21.42 points, or 0.20 percent, to 10,653.56. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 4.17 points, or 0.37 percent, to 1,121.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 4.59 points, or 0.20 percent, to 2,288.47.
Among stocks to watch on Bursa Malaysia include SIME DARBY BHD [], MUDAJAYA GROUP BHD [], MMC Corp Bhd, Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust and Latexx Group Bhd,
Investors could continue to stay cautious on Sime Darby, whose shares came under selling pressure recently on concerns about mounting provisions for its energy and utilities (E&U) division.
Sime Darby said last Friday that details of its forensic probe should be ready by end-September. It will announce its fourth quarter results on Aug 26. It added that until then, it could not comment on the results of the group "except that we expect the company to report a profit for the year ended June 30, 2010 based on its best estimates".
In Mudajaya, uncertainties will continue to weigh on the share price as investors await the Securities Commission’s conclusion of its review of the company.
The SC had in an email reply to The Edge Financial Daily on Friday said it was still reviewing the affairs of Mudajaya.
A filing with Bursa Malaysia showed MULPHA INTERNATIONAL BHD [] had raised its stake in Mudajaya to 21.6% or 88.21 million shares with the acquisition of 330,000 shares on Aug 2, 3 and 5. The shares had been hammered down on concerns of the SC probe and the fallout on the company.
In MMC Corp Bhd, billionaire Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Buhary’s plans for MMC to consolidate and rationalize the operations of Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) and Johor Port were rejected.
International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the government had decided not to approve the proposal following complaints from companies and industries in Pasir Gudang.
Mustapa was reported saying the companies claimed they had to pay higher haulage costs if they had to use PTP instead of Johor Port.
In Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust (Sunway REIT), the Employees Provident Fund Board has emerged as a substantial shareholder with 232.98 million unit or 8.69%. The EPF had subscribed for the units during the initial public offer.
The Edge weekly reports that PROTON HOLDINGS BHD [] is hoping its tie-up with Jinhua Youngman Group will boost its exports to the world's most attractive vehicle market.
LATEXX PARTNERS BHD [] reported net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010 surged 88.9% to RM21.55 million from RM11.41 million a year ago on the back of a 80.7% jump in revenue to RM134.48 million.
by Joseph Chin
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