FBM KLCI edges higher at midday as market recovers from early dip
The FBM KLCI rebounded from earlier losses to rise two points, or 0.13%, to 1,550.99, after reaching an intramorning high of 1,551.78.
Market breadth was mixed, with 411 gainers and 414 decliners, while 441 counters remained untraded. Trading volume stood at nearly two billion shares, valued at RM1.11 billion.
Genting Plantations, the top gainer on Bursa Malaysia, rose 22 sen to RM5.23. Hong Leong Bank added 12 sen to RM19.70, Hong Leong Financial Group gained 10 sen to RM16.56 and Malaysian Pacific Industries climbed 10 sen to RM22.70.
Among the losers, Nestle tumbled RM2 to RM78, Dutch Lady eased 46 sen to RM29.22, PETRONAS Dagangan lost 46 sen to RM21.50 and Westports fell 32 sen to RM5.48.
TA Securities said the local market is likely to remain in a consolidation phase, weighed down by a lack of strong domestic catalysts and lingering uncertainty over a potential trade deal with the United States.
'Immediate index support is kept at 1,490, with stronger supports found at 1,465 followed by 1,444.
'Immediate resistance remains at 1,564 with next upside hurdles seen at the recent high of 1,586, followed by 1,610 ahead,' TA said.
Meanwhile, Malacca Securities believes the local bourse may trade on a firmer footing for the session. This follows a positive lead from Wall Street, driven by sustained buying interest in tech stocks after the de-escalation of the US-Vietnam trade deal, along with the return of foreign funds over the past week.
'We anticipate the resumption of data center theme could lead to more positive trading activity within the technology and telco sectors, where Telekom Malaysia has recently experienced a breakout move,' it said.
Malacca Securities said that for a more conservative play, it favours IGB REIT and Sunway REIT, citing active asset acquisitions and sustained interest in the sector.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
38 minutes ago
- The Sun
Tetra Pak sees strong growth potential beyond daily sector
HO CHI MINH CITY: Tetra Pak, a Swedish-Swiss multinational food processing and packaging solutions company, sees strong growth potential in Malaysia and across Asia-Pacific beyond the milk category, said its president and CEO Adolfo Orive. He highlighted growing consumer demand for a variety of beverages such as plant-based, fruit juices, coffee, iced tea, protein-enriched, oatmeal and energy products, signalling a broader shift in the Malaysian and regional beverage markets. Orive said that globally, the demand for protein is on the rise, and Malaysia is no exception, protein is becoming increasingly important to consumers. The whole of Asia-Pacific is a great source of those new beverage categories, he said. 'Our role is to support a wide range of products tailored to different age groups, lifestyles and consumption. 'We commit to making food safe and available everywhere, and that is what we have been doing for more than 75 years,' he told Bernama. Additionally, Orive stressed the importance of sustainable packaging solutions that have a positive impact on the environment – currently, about 70% of Tetra Pak's packaging materials come from renewable sources, contributing to lower carbon dioxide emissions. 'We believe our packaging is already a strong and positive option in terms of sustainability, and we are committed to going further. 'Our goal is to keep investing in innovations that make our packaging even more sustainable for society as a whole,' he said. Tetra Pak has invested about €500 million (RM2.49 billion) in research and development over the past five years, underscoring its commitment to innovation, sustainability and meeting the evolving needs of the global food and beverage industry. On Thursday, Tetra Pak announced the expansion of its facility in Binh Duong, Vietnam, with the launch of Phase 2, following an additional investment of €97 million. This follows the inauguration of Phase 1 in 2019, as the company aims to better serve the growing demands of Vietnam and the broader Asia-Pacific markets. Serving as a regional production hub, Tetra Pak Binh Duong supplies packaging solutions to Vietnam and several key Asia-Pacific markets, including Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. The production capacity at Tetra Pak's Binh Duong facility has reached 30 billion packs annually. Currently, Tetra Pak operates an office in Malaysia, which primarily serves all consumers and customers in the country. Among the notable companies using Tetra Pak's packaging in Malaysia are Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, Farm Fresh Bhd, and Nestle. Asia-Pacific remains one of the world's most dynamic food and beverage markets, valued at US$667 billion (RM2.8 billion) in 2023 and projected to reach US$900 billion by 2028. Meanwhile, Tetra Pak Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia managing director Michael Wu said the company views Malaysia as a stable and reliable market. 'We see Malaysia as a secure baseline, and each year we target around 2% to 3% value growth to stay ahead of inflation. At the same time, we see strong potential to drive more innovation here,' he said. Wu noted that many of the products launched by customers in Malaysia have been in the market for years, and there is a clear opportunity to introduce new offerings, especially for younger and more diverse consumer segments. 'Malaysia is uniquely multiracial, with Malays, Chinese, Indians (and other ethnic groups), as well as a growing number of foreign tourists or residents. That diversity presents a valuable opportunity to innovate,' he explained. Before its expansion, Tetra Pak's Binh Duong facility supplied only 60% of the packaging materials used in Malaysia. However, following the upgrade, over 95% of the packaging material for the Malaysian market is now produced at the Binh Duong site, he said.
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Hong Kong's all-male boards are all but gone as firms embrace diversity
Hong Kong's bourse operator has declared victory in its quest to eliminate all-male boards from companies listed on the region's third-largest stock exchange, an improvement in corporate governance that analysts said would help attract international investors. Fewer than 10 of Hong Kong's around 2,600 listed companies had all-male boards as of the end of June, according to Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX). A spokesman said these exceptions were companies that had long been suspended from trading or were merely out of compliance temporarily because of a resignation. Eighty-five companies had all-male boards on January 1 when HKEX's ban on single-gender boards went into effect. In 2022, when the bourse operator unveiled the ban, more than 800 firms – or 40 per cent of listed companies – did not have a woman director. 'This requirement helped to create hundreds of new roles for female directors, reinforcing our commitment to fostering a more inclusive and diverse corporate environment and enhanced governance in our markets,' said Katherine Ng, HKEX's head of listing, in a statement to the Post. An example of a non-compliant company is property investment firm Paladin, which has six male board members. Its shares were suspended from trading in November because of insufficient business operations. To resume trading, the exchange would require a new business operation plan and at least one woman would need to join the board, the company said in February. More than 800 women had been added to listed companies' boards in the past four years, HKEX said. As of June, 21 per cent of directors were women, up from 20 per cent six months ago and 16 per cent four years ago when the single-gender ban was unveiled. The number of boards with multiple women increased to 43 per cent as of June from 35 per cent in 2022, and 21 per cent of listed companies now had boards where women accounted for a third of the directors. 'Ensuring more women on boards is a fundamental reform for listed companies anywhere, and it is confidence-building for investors to see HKEX taking definitive measures to move this along,' said Damien Green, a director of the Financial Services Development Council, a government agency that promotes the city as an international financial centre. Green cited the ban on all-male boards as a factor that helped the exchange's main board return to the top of the global league table for initial public offerings (IPOs) in the first half of the year. 'Strengthening corporate governance in the HKEX listing rules will not slow our market down but instead will help accelerate it, as international investors find yet another reason to have confidence in deploying their capital in Hong Kong,' he said. Funds from Hong Kong's IPOs soared eightfold to US$13.5 billion in the first six months, making the city's exchange the world's top IPO venue for the first time since 2019, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group. Despite progress, Hong Kong-listed companies trail their global peers in gender diversity on their boards. Globally, 27 per cent of board seats among around 3,000 companies in the MSCI All Country World Index were occupied by women as of 2024, up 1.5 per cent from a year earlier, MSCI said in February. Edmund Wong, a lawmaker for the accountancy sector, said he supported HKEX in promoting gender diversity, but added that the ability of directors was also important and that women with relevant experience could be in short supply in certain sectors. 'Listed companies in the construction sector or engineering may not easily find a lot of women,' Wong said. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Australia says US missile purchase shows commitment to defence spending
FILE PHOTO: Erika Olson, Charge d'Affaires, for the United States Embassy in Australia with Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles, and Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy, at the Avalon Air Show, in Victoria, Australia March 24, 2025. Conroy has confirmed the purchase of AIM-120C-8 and AIM-120D-3 missiles, developed by American defence company Raytheon Technologies. - Reuters SYDNEY: Australia said its A$2 billion (US$1.3 billion) purchase of supersonic missiles from the United States underscores its commitment to defence spending, though Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has resisted US calls to agree to a target of 3.5 per cent. Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy on Thursday (July 3) confirmed the purchase of AIM-120C-8 and AIM-120D-3 missiles, developed by American defence company Raytheon Technologies. They will be used by Australia's F/A-18 and F-35 fighter jets and a new army brigade focused on striking aerial targets up to 500 kilometres away, he added. Albanese, who is yet to meet President Donald Trump, has rebuffed a US request to agree to lift long-term defence spending to 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product. It's forecast to rise to 2.3 per cent by 2033. Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who met with her US counterpart Marco Rubio on Tuesday in Washington, said Australia took a "capability approach" and had already committed to the largest peacetime increase in defence funding. "I know there will be more capability required, I think we all understand that, and we will fund the capability Australia needs," she said on Thursday in a television interview with Sky News Australia. Albanese's scheduled meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the G7 was cancelled when Trump left the summit early due to tensions between Israel and Iran. Wong said the security allies were working to reschedule a leaders' meeting. Seeking to respond to China's build-up of its military, Albanese pledged A$74 billion (US$47 billion) last year to buy missiles from Europe and the US, including A$21 billion to establish a Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise in Australia. The sale of 400 missiles to Australia through the US foreign military sales programme was notified to the US Congress in April. A further US$2 billion proposed sale of US electronic warfare systems and equipment for Australia's F/A-18 Super Hornet and EA-18 Growler fighter jets was notified in June. - Reuters
