Market Review

MY: The local bourse closed higher, in line with the broader market's positive tone as global oil prices fell on hopes of an Iran–Oman transit deal in the Strait of Hormuz. Market breadth remained positive, with 776 gainers outpacing 463 losers as gains in YTLPOWR (+52.0 sen) and YTL (+18.0 sen) provided support. Sector-wise, Utilities (+3.60%) led the gains, while REITs (-1.17%) were the weakest performer.

US: Wall Street closed mixed on Wednesday as investors awaited Nvidia’s quarterly earnings report. The Dow shed 113 points, while the S&P 500 closed nearly flat, but the Nasdaq inched higher, as gains in technology stocks offset pressure on traditional sectors, while Brent crude oil eased marginally to USD87 per barrel.

The Day Ahead

US: Wall Street is likely to react positively to Nvidia’s strong Q2 results and above-consensus guidance, which should reinforce confidence in sustained AI infrastructure spending. Nvidia reported USD96.2bn in revenue and guided for USD108bn in Q3 revenue, potentially providing a positive read-through to AI infrastructure names. We favour STX, DELL, and ANET as beneficiaries of continued data-centre capex, although elevated Treasury yields and sticky inflation could temper the broader risk-on reaction. Meanwhile, we expect Nvidia’s results to lift sentiment on the AI and data centre themes, as well as power-infrastructure-related stocks such as PWR, BE, and GEV.

MY: Closer to home, the FBM KLCI is expected to open firmer following Nvidia’s strong results and upbeat outlook, which should provide a positive read-through to local technology counters such as ATECH and STRATUS; both have staged technical breakouts and we favour them for their AI and semiconductor exposure. Additionally, we like WELLCHIP and LAGENDA, as the former offers a solid outlook driven by its pawnshop expansion plans, while the latter has shown resilient results recently; both demonstrate encouraging price and volume pick-up patterns, suggesting that momentum is recovering.