U.S. trade policy remains concerning for Malaysia's technology sector: analysts
TA Securities said in its recent note that should the U.S. implement sector-specific tariffs on semiconductor imports, it could materially impact end-market demand and Malaysian technology corporate earnings.
According to the research house, heading into the second half, there are three major factors that could potentially influence the sector's earnings, U.S. policies; global semiconductor sales; progress of Malaysia's National Semiconductor Strategy.
"Should the U.S. administration proceed with imposing tariffs on semiconductor imports, it could severely disrupt the global supply chain and dampen end-user demand," the research house said.
Hence, it believed the policy risk will likely persist in the coming months, potentially leading to delays in orders and capital expenditure plans as corporates adopt a more conservative approach in response to the lack of policy visibility.
Meanwhile, TA Securities noted that the global semiconductor market was still undergoing an upcycle, with positive momentum expected to continue into the second half.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
U.S. stocks close mixed as tech giants sink
NEW YORK, July 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended mixed on Tuesday as investors digested the Senate's narrow passage of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill and continued to monitor developments on trade and monetary policy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 400.17 points, or 0.91 percent, to 44,494.94. The S&P 500 sank 6.94 points, or 0.11 percent, to 6,198.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 166.84 points, or 0.82 percent, to 20,202.89. Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with materials and health leading the gainers by adding 2.28 percent and 1.39 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, communication services and technology led the laggards by losing 1.19 percent and 1.13 percent, respectively. The U.S. Senate voted 51-50 on the president's One Big Beautiful Bill, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote to push the bill through. The legislation now returns to the House of Representatives, which will vote on the Senate's amendments. The Trump administration has been racing to meet a self-imposed July 4 deadline for the bill's final passage. Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported that the United States is scaling back its push for comprehensive "reciprocal" trade deals. Instead, officials are working to secure narrower agreements before Trump's broad tariffs are set to resume on July 9. Investors also focused on remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who spoke Tuesday at the European Central Bank's annual forum in Sintra, Portugal. Powell reiterated that the central bank is taking a cautious approach amid economic uncertainty caused by Trump's tariffs. He emphasized that the U.S. economy remains fundamentally strong, but that the inflationary impact of tariffs is delaying a decision on interest rate cuts. "I wouldn't take any meeting off the table or put it directly on the table," Powell said when asked about the possibility of a cut in July. "It's going to depend on how the data evolved," he said, adding that "we went on hold when we saw the size of the tariffs and essentially all inflation forecasts for the United States went up materially as a consequence of the tariffs." Fresh labor market data released Tuesday hinted 7.76 million job openings at the end of May, up from 7.39 million in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The April figure was also revised upward. The May total exceeded economists' expectations for 7.3 million openings, underscoring continued demand for labor despite concerns about slowing growth. "Hiring remains depressed, but that is less worrisome than it would be otherwise because layoffs continue to be low," Oxford Economics lead economist Nancy Vanden Houten wrote in a note to clients. As of Tuesday, markets were pricing in a roughly 23-percent chance that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its July meeting and a 96-percent chance of at least one rate cut by the end of the September meeting, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Tesla shares fell 5.34 percent in late trading as tensions between U.S. billionaire Elon Musk and Trump flared again. Musk criticized the president's bill newly passed at the Senate, while Trump fired back, claiming that the Tesla CEO had benefited excessively from government subsidies. Other major technology stocks were mostly lower. Chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom dropped nearly 3 percent and 4 percent, respectively. Meta Platforms declined 2.56 percent, and Microsoft and Alphabet also posted losses. Apple rose 1.29 percent, extending gains from Monday after reports surfaced that the company is exploring integrating artificial intelligence technology from OpenAI or Anthropic into its Siri voice assistant. Amazon shares rose 0.5 percent.
The Star
5 hours ago
- The Star
Fed Chair Powell sticks to wait-and-see stance on interest rates
NEW YORK, July 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday reiterated his wait-and-see stance on interest rates while admitting that the Trump administration's tariffs prevented the Fed from lowering interest rates early. "As long as the economy is in solid shape, we think the prudent thing to do is to wait and see what those effects might be," said Powell at the European Central Bank (ECB) Forum on Central Banking in the Portuguese resort town of Sintra. U.S. inflation is likely to go up later this summer despite uncertainties on the timing and magnitude of price increase from the duties, according to Powell. The Fed would have already cut interest rates in 2025 if not for the shockwaves from tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, according to Powell. "In effect, we went on hold when we saw the size of the tariffs and essentially all inflation forecasts for the United States went up materially as a consequence of the tariffs," said Powell. The Fed has kept the target of federal funds rates unchanged at 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent this year. The Fed's wait-and-see mode has drawn fierce criticism from Trump, who has urged lowering interest rates to reduce the U.S. burden of paying interest on hefty debts. Powell and the entire Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System should be ashamed of themselves for not cutting interest rates, according to Trump's post on social media on Monday. "The Board just sits there and watches, so they are equally to blame," added Trump.
The Star
6 hours ago
- The Star
Uganda imports Chinese hybrid goats to boost livestock industry
ENTEBBE, Uganda, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Nine Chinese hybrid goats, also known as Jianzhou big-eared goats, have arrived in Uganda as the East African country seeks to boost its goat meat production and livestock industry. The goats -- three males and six females -- landed at Entebbe International Airport on Monday night after a journey of more than 10 hours from Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province. As a crossbreed between the British Nubian goat and the Jianyang local goat breed, this is the first time the Jianzhou big-eared goats have been exported outside China. The animals were imported under the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization-China-Uganda South-South Cooperation Project, a tripartite initiative aimed at transferring agricultural technologies and best practices from China to Uganda. The project focuses on crop production, aquaculture, and livestock improvement. Under its livestock component, the Jianzhou big-eared goat has been identified as a key breed to help transform Uganda's goat farming sector, according to Uganda's Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF). Rose Ademun, commissioner for animal health at MAAIF, said the Jianzhou big-eared goat is "a superior meat breed known for its rapid growth, high carcass yield, and adaptability to various agro-climatic conditions." Ademun made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua on Tuesday at the National Animal Genetic Resources Centre & Data Bank (NAGRC&DB), where the imported goats are housed and will undergo a research and multiplication phase. Beyond increasing meat output, the imported goats will also be used to crossbreed with local ones to improve productivity, ultimately raising farmers' incomes, Ademun added, while thanking China for sharing the breed. Julius Twinamasiko, head of the Ugandan side of the South-South Cooperation project, told Xinhua that Ugandan farmers and extension workers would acquire valuable skills in modern goat husbandry through the program. "They are going to increase production; they are going to help us as a country to increase meat production. This will translate to increased foreign exchange for the country," Twinamasiko said. "In the next few years, we will have multiplied these goats. They will be farmed across the country," he added. Since 2012, under the tripartite cooperation framework, China has dispatched agricultural experts to work directly with Ugandan farmers, sharing skills and technology. In the crop sector, they have introduced high-yielding varieties such as foxtail millet and hybrid rice, alongside expertise in aquaculture and livestock farming.
