Bursa opens higher despite weaker Wall Street
At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 6.45 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 1,569.69 from yesterday's close of 1,563.24.
The benchmark index had earlier opened 1.41 points lower at 1,561.83.
Market breadth was positive, with advancers leading gainers 125 to 88. Another 238 counters were unchanged, 2,070 untraded and eight suspended.
Turnover stood at 144.19 million shares worth RM49.14 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said as expected, the US has extended its tariff deadline on China by another 90 days.
"The US 10-year yield eased slightly to 4.279 per cent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index ended marginally higher amid a lacklustre trading session as sentiment remained cautious ahead of the expiration of the US-China tariff truce today," he told Bernama.
Back home, he sees the tariff deadline extension on China as a positive catalyst and believes that the US may eventually relent.
"Hence, we expect the index to hover between the 1,555-1,570 range today," he added.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank added six sen to RM9.71, CIMB perked up two sen to RM6.96 but Tenaga Nasional and IHH Healthcare fell two sen each to RM13.64 and RM6.94, while Public Bank was flat at RM4.40.
On the actively traded list, Classita put on 1.5 sen to 10.5 sen, NexG bagged 2.5 sen to 40 sen, Pharmaniaga and Magma inched up half-a-sen to 18.5 sen and 40 sen, respectively, while TWL was flat at 2.5 sen.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index expanded 34.18 points to 11,681.31, the FBMT 100 Index widened 34.22 points to 11,463.94, the FBM Emas Shariah Index jumped 34.49 points to 11,682.16, while the FBM ACE Index trimmed 0.01 of a point to 4,620.21 and the FBM Mid 70 Index weakened 7.22 points to 16,588.42.
By sector, the Financial Services Index climbed 58.89 points to 17,786.72, the Plantation Index advanced 52.95 points to 7,517.03, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.52 of a point better at 159.30, and the Energy Index appreciated 1.64 points to 737.0.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
8 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
China Evergrande liquidators say US$255 million of assets have been sold
HONG KONG: Liquidators of China Evergrande Group said on Tuesday they have sold about US$255 million of its assets 18 months into China's largest debt liquidation process and taken control of more than 100 of the company's subsidiaries. They have received creditor claims totalling US$45 billion, the liquidators said in a filing, significantly higher than liabilities of US$27.5 billion in 2022 in the last disclosure. The liquidation of the world's most indebted property developer has proved challenging as the majority of Evergrande's units and assets are onshore and many of them have been seized by creditors. Given the scale and complexity of the company, Evergrande's liquidation could take more than a decade to be completed, according to offshore investors. While the pace of asset disposals for debt recovery was faster than market expectations, the value was still far below the creditors' claims. The developer's shares will be delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on August 25 after they failed to resume trading per listing rules, the filing said. Shares of Evergrande, once China's top developer which was listed in Hong Kong in 2009, are facing delisting after having been suspended from trading since Jan 29, 2024, the day the company received a liquidation order from the Hong Kong High Court. The liquidation order came after Evergrande failed to provide a viable restructuring plan for its US$23 billion offshore debt amid a debt crisis in the Chinese property sector that erupted in mid-2021. The company collapsed with more than US$300 billion in liabilities. Many property companies across the country have defaulted since, and China's property market, once a key growth driver for the world's second-largest economy, has been in a multi-year tailspin despite repeated government attempts to revive weak consumer demand. Developers face deteriorating cash flow but their bondholders are resisting taking heftier losses on their investments, delaying negotiations between companies and creditors, restructuring advisers have said. PROGRESS REPORT In a progress report published on Tuesday, Evergrande's liquidators, Alvarez & Marsal's Edward Middleton and Tiffany Wong, said entities now under the liquidators' direct management control had a total value of US$3.5 billion at the time of the liquidation order. Of the US$255 million worth of asset sales, however, only US$11 million came from assets held directly by Evergrande, while the rest were held by its subsidiaries. The liquidators cautioned it should also not be assumed that the US$244 million derived from assets held by Evergrande's units will all be available to it. Only US$167 million has been delivered so far. "The ownership structures of these assets are in most cases multi-layered, involve corporate entities incorporated in more than one jurisdiction, have voluminous and complex intra-group transactions within them and, in some cases, have external creditors," the liquidators added in the filing. "All of this makes the upstream distribution of the proceeds of realisation of an asset a painstaking and time-consuming exercise." The total proceeds raised include the sales of a variety of non-core assets, such as equity interests in the futures and securities brokerage businesses, school bonds, club memberships, artwork and motor vehicles. As of July 31, creditors had submitted 187 debt claims totalling US$45 billion, according to the filing. The figure compares to liabilities of US$27.5 billion disclosed in the company's last financial statements for 2022. The liquidators warned, though, that the figure could change and would be assessed to ensure duplicate or misleading claims had not been made. Evergrande's two most valuable assets are its shares in listed units Evergrande Property Services and Evergrande New Energy Vehicle, and the liquidators have been looking for buyers for them. For the property services unit, in particular, the liquidators said they have appointed legal and financial advisers to assist them in the process. As there is no clear path to a viable and more encompassing restructuring, the liquidators said they will continue to focus efforts on realising assets and investigating the causes of insolvency and possible claims arising from them. The liquidators have taken legal action against PricewaterhouseCoopers, accusing it of "negligence" and "misrepresentation" in its work for the group. They are also suing property services company CBRE and investment banking advisory firm Avista over valuation reports they produced for Evergrande and its subsidiaries in 2018.
The Star
39 minutes ago
- The Star
UMS Integration reports stronger 2Q25 net profit
PETALING JAYA: UMS Integration Ltd, which completed its secondary listing on Bursa Malaysia this month, reported a stronger net profit in the second quarter ended June 30, 2025 (2QFY25) on increased semiconductor segment sales. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the Singapore-listed company said its second–quarter net profit rose 10.1% year-on-year (y-o-y) to S$10.26mil, while revenue rose 20.4% y-o-y to S$67.35mil. On a year-on-year basis, the stronger sales was driven by a 27% increase in its semiconductor segment which was offset by a 14% decline in aerospace sales and a 7% dip in revenue in the "others" segment. The lower aerospace revenue was mainly due to a delivery push-out by one of its customers, while the softer performance of the others segment was caused mainly by the weaker material and tooling distribution business. Semiconductor integrated system sales leapt 36% y-o-y from S$20.8mil in 2QFY24 to S$28.2mil in 2QFY25. Component sales also climbed 20% y-o-y from S$25.5mil to S$30.6mil during the same period. Meanwhile, compared to 1QFY25, both the semiconductor and the others segments rose 21% and 9% respectively, while the aerospace business fell 13%. Geographically, UMS' key markets delivered a mixed performance in 2QFY25. Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan posted sales increases while the US and others posted lower sales. Malaysia's 270% sales surge came from the stronger order flow from the group's new major customer while Singapore's sales climbed 15% as compared to 2QFY24 on the back of higher overall semiconductor sales. Taiwan revenue improved 3% from more component spare sales. Lower aerospace component sales caused US revenue to decline by 9%. Sales in the others market also fell 12% mainly due to weaker material/tooling distribution business. Cumulatively, for the first half of the financial year 2025 (1HFY25), UMS' net profit improved by 5.1% y-o-y to S$20.09mil. Revenue for the six months increased by 13.7% y-o-y to S$125mil. Semiconductor sales rose 17% y-o-y to S$107.4mil in 1HFY25 while Aerospace revenue edged up 2% to S$11.5mil. Sales in the others segment dipped 9% to S$6mil. Semiconductor integrated system sales increased 14% y-o-y to S$47.9mil in 1HFY25. Revenue from component sales surged 20% to S$59.5mil. Revenue from Singapore rose 5% to S$78.7mil in 1HFY25, while Malaysia sales soared 250% to S$17.4mil during the same period. In a statement, UMS expects to be a key beneficiary of the global chip sector rebound as well as the rising shift of global semiconductor supply chains to the region, especially Malaysia and Singapore, where its two key customers have committed major expansion plans. Both its key customers have announced robust earnings guidance for the coming months. UMS said it is also well-placed to capitalise on the ongoing aviation boom as air travel accelerates worldwide. UMS chief executive officer Andy Luong said the group's recent successful secondary listing in Bursa Malaysia has also helped unlock value for shareholders. The group's market capitalisation has grown almost 50% since the beginning of this year, to hit above S$1bil. 'While market uncertainties persist, our growth strategy remains intact,' stated Luong.
Free Malaysia Today
39 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Wall Street futures steady as investors brace for crucial inflation data
Today's economic data could also test a rally in US stocks that have touched record highs. (AP pic) NEW YORK : US stock index futures were trading flat today, as caution prevailed ahead of a key inflation report that could sway expectations over the Federal Reserve's (Fed) next monetary policy move. There was also some relief that the US and China extended their tariff truce until Nov 10, staving off triple-digit duties on each other's goods. The focus is now on the impact of trade uncertainty on inflation, which has complicated the Fed's decision on interest-rate cuts even as US companies look to pass on higher costs to consumers. A labor department report at 8.30am is expected to show prices increased moderately in July, but economists are anticipating a measure of underlying inflation to reflect its largest gain in six months. The report could help gauge the Fed's move when it meets in September, with traders now pricing an 88% chance of a 25 basis points interest-rate cut, according to data compiled by LSEG. 'This report will be an important one for the Fed, in part because of the unexpectedly weak jobs report earlier this month,' said Jim Reid, global head of macro and thematic research at Deutsche Bank said in a note. 'A downside surprise in today's CPI print would strengthen rate cut expectations, whereas an in-line or stronger print would require further data to provide clarity on that,' Reid said. The data will come at a time when there are growing concerns over the quality of economic data, weeks after President Donald Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics following downward revisions to previous months' nonfarm payrolls counts. At 5.37am, Dow E-minis were up 54 points, or 0.12%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 3.5 points, or 0.05% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 5.25 points, or 0.02%. Today's data could also test a rally in US stocks that have touched record highs, boosted by better-than-expected earnings from technology majors, a detente between the US and its top trade partners and on expectations of rate cuts. Markets are monitoring developments around Trump's nominee EJ Antoni to the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner post and potential candidates for the Fed's top job. Among single stocks, Intel rose 3.3% in premarket trading as Trump praised CEO Lip-Bu Tan following their meeting yesterday, days after seeking Tan's resignation. Palo Alto Networks gained 1.8% after brokerage Piper Sandler raised its rating on the cybersecurity stock to 'overweight' from 'neutral'. Hanesbrands soared 27.3% after a report said Canada's Gildan Activewear is nearing a deal to acquire the US innerwear-maker for about US$5 billion, including debt. US-listed shares of On Holding climbed 10.7% after the sportswear maker raised its annual sales forecast. Earnings reports from Venture Global and Circle Internet are also due before the bell.
