Stocks to watch: Bursa, SP Setia, IJM Corp, Aeon Credit

Written by Isabelle Francis and Wong Min Wei
Friday, 18 September 2009 07:32

KUALA LUMPUR: With the Hari Raya holidays break ahead, traders could take profit and withdraw to the sidelines on Sept 18 while the lacklustre closing on Wall Street is unlikely to provide any encouragement.

The local stock market will reopen on Sept 23. Meanwhile, US stocks slipped on Thursday, Sept 17 after a three-day runup on concern recent gains were overextended despite the latest round of solid economic data.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.08% to end at 9,783.92. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 0.31% at 1,065.49. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.30% at 2,126.75.

At Bursa Malaysia, the FBM KLCI closed 5.82 points higher on late buying to 1,218.80, in line with the rally by other regional markets.

MIDF Research head Zulkifli Hamzah said the FBM KLCI had been creeping up on relatively light volume and was very much a trading market with fund managers consistently realising profit as the prices extended their gains.

He said those operating a trading book were likely to square off their positions prior to the long break, as they would be exposed to market risks, specifically event risk.

Among the latest economic data was the creation of more manufacturing jobs in July this year, rising by 1,897 or 0.2% to 934,688 from June while the sales value from the sector also showed a month-on-month growth.

However, total sales of passenger cars and commercial vehicles or total industry volume (TIV) in August rose 2.78% year-on-year to 48,538 units, but compared to July this year, it was down by 3,390 units or 6.5%.

Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) said the month-on-month decline was due to lower sales reported by Proton.

Among the stocks to watch today are Bursa, SP Setia, IJM Corp and Aeon Credit.

Bursa Malaysia resumes trading after a one-day suspension where it agreed to sell a 25% stake worth RM55.6 million in its derivatives subsidiary, Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Bhd to CME Group Inc.

CME, the world's largest derivatives exchange, would pay for the stake in BMD with RM1.9 million cash and 76,427 of its own shares, adding Bursa would make a “paper gain” RM44 million from its divestment of the stake.

SP Setia posted net profit of RM42.68 million for 3Q ended July 31, 2009, up 4.45% from the RM40.86 million a year ago mainly to the strong sales recorded from its 5/95 home and commercial ownership campaign.

Its wood-based manufacturing activities also contributed to the earnings achieved. SP Setia ended at 22 sen higher at RM4.60 yesterday.

IJM Corporation bagged a RM327 million road CONSTRUCTION [] and maintenance project in India. The country's second biggest construction company after GAMUDA BHD [] in terms of market capitalisation, earlier said it aimed to maintain an order book of more than RM4 billion.

AEON CREDIT SERVICE (M) BHD []'s (AEON Credit) net profit for the second quarter ended Aug 20, 2009, rose 19% to RM13.49 million from RM11.38 million a year ago mainly due to successful promotional activities and growth in consumer financing receivables as well as number of credit cards issued.

UNISEM (M) BHD []’s shares should also see some movement today after the company proposed a private placement of up to 10% of its paid up capital.