Frontken Corporation Bhd is regarded as one of the leading providers of (i) support services to the semiconductor industry, (ii) surface treatment and mechanical engineering solutions, serving a wide-range of industries.

The FBM KLCI sank for another session on Monday as investors took profit in selected heavyweights prior to the Thaipusam holiday, despite a positive cue from China’s stronger-than-expected economic growth in 2021. However, we think the volatility may continue in the market over the near term while investors monitor for new developments of interest rate movement in the US. Meanwhile the technology counters might see another slump following the overnight tumble in Nasdaq.

Ann Joo Resources Bhd engages in the manufacturing and trading of steel and steel related products with an annual capacity of 450m blast furnace integrated with and a 100MT electric-arc furnace, with billet production capacity of 820,000MT.

Sentiment was broadly negative on the local bourse last Friday, taking cues from both the global and regional stock markets. Selloff deepened in the technology stocks as concerns over interest rate hikes in the US and overstretched valuations continued to put pressure on the sector. However, given the mild rebound in Nasdaq, we believe technology stocks may perform a technical rebound move at least in the near term.

The FBM KLCI bounced from the previous day’s slide, supported by buying interest within selected industrial products & services as well as banking heavyweights. However, we believe market sentiment on the local front will remain cautious as the rally on Wall Street faded after hitting respective intraday highs for the major indices. Investors are still digesting and uncertain on the pace of the potential interest rate hikes in the US.

Bucking the regional uptrend move, the FBM KLCI harboured a mild loss as banking-propelled rallies ran out of steam on the back of mild profit taking activities. Meanwhile, the Wall Street rebounded higher as the US inflation rate came in within expectation at 7.0% YoY. Hence, with the recent continuous buying from foreign funds into our local exchange, we expect sentiment will remain sturdy and the FBM KLCI should revisit the 1,600 level in the near term.

CTOS Digital Bhd (CTOS) is regarded as one of leading credit reporting agencies (CRA) in Southeast Asia. Their services are widely used by the banking and financial institutions, insurance and telecommunication companies, large corporations, SMEs as well as individuals.

The FBM KLCI extended its winning streak to the third straight session despite cautious sentiment across the regional bourses, propelled by selected banking heavyweights. While investors may be bracing for interest rate hikes and uncertainties in new Covid-19 variant, we expect to see some recovery on the local bourse as sentiment may be lifted by the upcoming National Recovery Plan 2.0.