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New Straits Times
09-07-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Petronas Chemicals' earnings to stay weak as O&D spreads hit multi-year lows
KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd's earnings are expected to remain under pressure in the coming quarters due to prolonged weakness in olefins and derivatives (O&D) spreads. In a research note, Maybank Investment Bank (Maybank IB) said the O&D subsector is still bearish due to the ongoing regional oversupply, mainly from China. It said O&D spreads continued to weaken in the second quarter of 2025, currently at multi-year lows since the Covid-19 pandemic in the first half of 2020. "This is given the ongoing regional supply glut, driven by fierce upcoming regional petrochemical complexes, mainly from China, due to the country's drive for self-sufficiency. "We are closely monitoring industry developments to identify any possible turnaround for the sector, as most naphtha-based petrochemical players are loss-making in the current environment," it said. Maybank IB said the weaker US dollar could result in unrealised foreign exchange (forex) losses, as the ringgit appreciated by five per cent against the greenback to 4.21 as at end-June 2025 from 4.43 at end-March 2025. Based on historical trends, the firm said Petronas Chemicals conducts a mark-to-market assessment and books in the forex impact on their assets on a quarterly basis. It said the company's upcoming second-quarter headline profits could be negatively affected by the revaluation of its shareholder loans to Pengerang Petrochemical Company (PPC), as well as the revaluation of the latter's payables. "Based on our estimates, Petronas Chemicals could register weaker core earnings in the second quarter due to a shutdown in PRefChem and declining O&D spreads," it said. Maybank IB, however, said a potential earnings upside could occur if the company's 50 per cent-owned PPC secures a "special discount" from PRefChem, contingent upon the latter's profitability following recent favourable gross refining margins. This subsidy could help offset PPC's losses and provide some relief to Petronas Chemicals' bottom line in the second half of 2025. Maybank IB kept its "Sell" call on the stock with an unchanged target price of RM2.59 a share.
Focus Malaysia
12-06-2025
- Business
- Focus Malaysia
Bursa Malaysia ends marginally higher amid cautious regional sentiment
BURSA Malaysia closed slightly higher today, with the key index climbing 0.18%, supported by buying in utilities and telecommunications heavyweights, despite softer regional sentiment due to profit-taking and caution surrounding the United States-China trade deal. At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 2.78 points to 1,526.62 from Wednesday's close of 1,523.84. The benchmark opened 3.87 points higher at 1,527.71 this morning, and subsequently moved between 1,523.22 to a high of 1,528.72 throughout the session. On the broader market, losers thumped gainers 500 to 379, while 530 counters were unchanged, 986 untraded and 17 suspended. Turnover fell to 2.73 billion units worth RM2.07 bil compared with yesterday's 3.27 billion units worth RM2.59 bil. ‒ June 12, 2025
New Straits Times
12-06-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Bursa Malaysia ends marginally higher amid cautious regional sentiment
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed slightly higher today, with the key index climbing 0.18 per cent, supported by buying in utilities and telecommunications heavyweights, despite softer regional sentiment due to profit-taking and caution surrounding the United States-China trade deal. At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 2.78 points to 1,526.62 from Wednesday's close of 1,523.84. The benchmark opened 3.87 points higher at 1,527.71 this morning, and subsequently moved between 1,523.22 to a high of 1,528.72 throughout the session. On the broader market, losers thumped gainers 500 to 379, while 530 counters were unchanged, 986 untraded and 17 suspended. Turnover fell to 2.73 billion units worth RM2.07 billion compared with yesterday's 3.27 billion units worth RM2.59 billion. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI edged higher with buying in selective heavyweights such as utilities and telco stocks, while key regional indices finished mostly lower due to profit-taking following gains over the last few days. "In addition, market sentiment was dampened by US President Donald Trump's threat to impose new trade tariffs on major economies, while investors remained cautious, awaiting further details on the US-China trade deal," he told Bernama. Elaborating on the local market performance, Thong noted that the benchmark index remains in consolidation mode despite closing higher over the past two sessions, as it still needs to break above the 1,530 resistance level and sustain that level for a longer period. "As such we anticipate the FBM KLCI to trend within the 1,520-1,530 range towards the weekend," he added.
Focus Malaysia
11-06-2025
- Business
- Focus Malaysia
Bursa Malaysia up 0.45% at close as investors welcome US-China trade framework
BURSA Malaysia ended higher on Wednesday, with investors adopting a cautiously optimistic stance following the announcement of a United States–China trade framework agreement, which includes provisions on technology trade. At 5 pm, the FBM KLCI rose 6.89 points, or 0.45 per cent to 1,523.84 from Tuesday's close of 1,516.95. The benchmark index opened 3.91 points higher at 1,520.86 this morning, which was its day's low, and subsequently moved to a high of 1,530.85 in the early session. On the broader market, gainers thumped decliners 545 to 375, while 528 counters were unchanged, 921 untraded and 11 suspended. Turnover soared to 3.27 bil units worth RM2.59 bil compared with yesterday's 2.72 bil units worth RM2.09 bil. —June 11, 2025
The Sun
11-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Bursa ends higher on US-China trade boost, local data
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended higher on Wednesday, with investors adopting a cautiously optimistic stance following the announcement of a United States–China trade framework agreement, which includes provisions on technology trade. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 6.89 points, or 0.45 per cent to 1,523.84 from Tuesday's close of 1,516.95. The benchmark index opened 3.91 points higher at 1,520.86 this morning, which was its day's low, and subsequently moved to a high of 1,530.85 in the early session. On the broader market, gainers thumped decliners 545 to 375, while 528 counters were unchanged, 921 untraded and 11 suspended. Turnover soared to 3.27 billion units worth RM2.59 billion compared with yesterday's 2.72 billion units worth RM2.09 billion. UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said the development in the US-China trade negotiations marks a constructive step toward de-escalation, although it falls short of a material breakthrough. Domestically, the market found additional support from encouraging macroeconomic data, with figures released today by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) showing that the sales value of the manufacturing sector rose by 4.8 per cent year-on-year in April 2025, reaching RM160.6 billion. 'Notably, the domestic-oriented industries expanded further by 3.6 per cent in April, up from a 1.8 per cent increase in March. Although these indicators are typically considered lagging, they are nonetheless critical in signalling that Malaysia's economic and export sectors remain fundamentally solid despite global trade uncertainties,' he said. Mohd Sedek further elaborated that investor sentiment was further buoyed by an improvement in trading activity as market volume rebounded to a more normalised level, surpassing the three billion shares mark after languishing around 2.7 billion shares for the past five consecutive trading days. 'Financials, utilities, and data centre-related counters led the gainers, reflecting renewed confidence in sectors anchored by domestic demand and long-term structural trends,' he added. Among the heavyweights, Maybank advanced four sen to RM9.70, Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM14.24, Public Bank and CIMB both rose five sen to RM4.31 and RM6.90, respectively, while IHH slipped three sen to RM6.86. The top gainers in the broader market were led by consumer products and services counters, with F&N adding 64 sen to RM28.44, followed by Nestle, which gained 56 sen to RM75.56, and Allianz climbed 26 sen to RM19.38. Among the most active stocks, MYEG was two sen higher at 97 sen, TWL was flat at 2.5 sen, YTL Corporation improved 16 sen to RM2.18, Gamuda was six sen better at RM4.76, and Tanco perked up one sen to 97.5 sen.
