KUALA LUMPUR: Stocks to watch on Thursday include Swift Haulage Bhd
, Hup Seng Industries Bhd, AME Real Estate Investment Trust (AME REIT), Duopharma Biotech Bhd, OCK Group Bhd, Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd (MHB) and Hiap Teck Venture Bhd.
Swift Haulage’s net profit more than doubled to RM28.39mil in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (3QFY2023).
Hup Seng’s net profit in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (3QFY2023) jumped threefold to RM13.02mil.
AME REIT reported a net income of RM8.72mil for the second quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (2QFY2024) on the back of a net property income of RM10.78mil.
Duopharma’s net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (3QFY2023) fell by 45.13% to RM8.97mil from RM16.35mil due to higher finance costs, among others.
OCK has accepted a RM48.73mil contract from the Ministry of Education to rent out eco-friendly information and communications technology (ICT) hardware to school computer laboratories in Sarawak.
MHB incurred a net loss of RM105.21mil million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (3QFY2023), its second straight quarterly loss amid cost escalation in existing projects, and has warned that its heavy engineering segment and marine business will remain challenging.
Eastern Steel Sdn Bhd (ESSB), a steel slabs and billets producer that is 27.3%-owned by Hiap Teck, is determined to shift its focus to mainly hot rolled coils (HRCs) next year now that its annual production has jumped nearly fourfold to 2.7 million tonnes.
Overnight, the US stock markets displayed a mixed performance, with the Dow experiencing a decline, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq edged higher.
The dow jones Industrial Average fell 0.12% to 34,112.27, the S&P 500 gained 0.10% to 4,382.78 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.08% at 13,650.41.
Apex Securities said market performance could be mixed, despite improving economic conditions with unemployment rate held steady at 3.4% for three consecutive months.
It said any optimism is likely to be overshadowed by soft sentiment from Wall Street.
“Looking ahead, comments from various Federal Reserve officials, including Fed President Jerome Powell will be monitored closely.
“Meanwhile, China’s inflation rate and producer price index data as well as Malaysia’s retail sales will be in focus today. Additionally, we expect the energy sector to remain under pressure from weakness in crude oil prices with Brent oil prices slipping below US$80/bbl,” Apex said.
