Picking Laggards From The Bursa Finance Index
Thursday's session saw the local bourse continue to trade in positive territory, as uncertainties surrounding Trump's perfectionist trade policies were expected to ease. Banking stocks like CIMB helped lift market sentiment, despite a conservative tone in its quarterly outlook.
In US, Wall Street rallied for a third straight session, driven by strong corporate earnings and optimism despite ongoing trade tensions. Tech and airline stocks led gains, while falling bond yields and mixed economic data reflected lingering uncertainty
over interest rates and trade policy outcomes.
The Day Ahead
Wall Street extended its gains, supported by President Trump's less confrontational stance toward Beijing, along with supportive remarks from Scott Bessent. Malacca Securities said it believes the market may be pricing in the recent developments around trade tensions, potentially positioning equities for further upside in the near term. Also, the ongoing earnings season will remain a key focus, especially after Alphabet reported stronger-than-expected earnings results post-market. On the macro front, unemployment claims came in at 222k, in line with economists' estimates. In the commodities market, both Brent Crude and Gold hovered around USD65/bbl and USD3,366 respectively, while CPO prices edged higher at RM4,059/MT.
With the Bursa Finance Index up +8% from its 9 April low, the house sees accumulation opportunities in Alliance Bank and AmBank, which have lagged behind their peers despite offering healthy dividend payouts. Meanwhile, Malacca Securities views the acquisition of LF Lansen Sdn Bhd as a strategic move for Binastra to expand its RE-EPCC pipeline, supported by a robust orderbook and attractive valuations, relative to peers.
Lastly, with the potential ongoing de-escalation of US-China trade tensions, the house believes trading interest may return to the Technology sector, which was heavily sold down earlier this month. Related
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