Stocks to watch: Glovemakers, Kencana, PPB, UMW

Written by Fong Min Hun
Thursday, 01 October 2009 07:44

KUALA LUMPUR: The overnight decline on Wall Street amid mixed economic data and the weak closing on Bursa Malaysia may see investors staying on the sidelines, awaiting local funds and institutions to take the lead on THursday, Oct 1, the start of the fourth quarter.

US stocks fell on Wednesday, Sept 30 as investors worried about the surprise drop in Midwestern manufacturing amid news that economy didn't sink as fast in the second quarter as earlier estimated.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.3% to 9,712.28, the broader S&P 500 index fell 0.3% to 1,057.08 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index eased 0.1% to 2,122.42.

Stocks to watch include glovemakers, KENCANA PETROLEUM BHD [], PPB GROUP BHD [] and UMW HOLDINGS BHD [].

Glovemakers should see trading interest after a new levy imposed by the Malaysian Rubber Board of four sen per kilogramme of imported rubber would not apply to them as glove makers here import latex for their own use rather than for re-export.

Though the glove manufacturers would be able to easily absorb the new levy, its removal would be a welcome relief to them as well as their investors. Glove makers fell yesterday on earlier concerns about the levy but this could reverse today.

Oil and gas (O&G) player Kencana's net profit rose 29% to RM30.25 million in the fourth quarter ended July 31, 2009 from RM23.39 million a year ago mainly due to better management of costs.

Revenue fell 16% to RM258.1 million from RM307.65 million a year ago mainly due to progress achieved for contracts in hand, which was in line with the project delivery schedule

The price of crude oil is presently trading between the US$60 - US$70 per barrel mark, which observers say represents a healthy range for Malaysian O&G players. Kencana is mostly involved in upstream activities including the design and supply of parts.

PPB Group Bhd could see some movement after its Singapore associate Wilmar International Ltd delayed the proposed listing of Wilmar China Ltd in Hong Kong, which is a sure sign of market weakness setting in. For more news and analysis, read The Edge FinancialDaily.

UMW Holdings Bhd, which is involved in O&G and vehicles, has after months of delay, let the deadline for it to list its O&G unit lapse. UMW said that several of its O&G units had reached profitability causing it to revisit its listing proposal.

State-owned Iskandar Investment Bhd (IIB), the promoter and coordinator of the Iskandar Malaysia growth region in Johor, will call for bids for some RM2 billion worth of CONSTRUCTION [] jobs within the enclave next year and rope in more local and foreign partners to undertake more initiatives.