Stocks to watch: GLCs, SelProp, Vastalux, NSTP, UEMLand - Edgedaily

KUALA LUMPUR: Market sentiment this week is expected to stay lacklustre in the absence of fresh positive corporate news, expect for several companies, while the continued losses on Wall Street are unlikely to see investors taking fresh positions.

On Friday, US stocks fell for a third straight day as investors stayed cautious following disappointing housing and durable goods data and concerns about TECHNOLOGY spending.

Reuters reports the rally in US stocks, which stumbled in recent days on worries about the economic recovery and continued government stimulus, will be tested this week, by crucial data on growth and jobs.

Data due out are September non-farm payrolls, the final reading of second-quarter gross domestic product and several other big economic reports.


There is concern that the rally in stocks, with the Standard & Poor's 500 index up about 54% since early March, could be fizzling out.

Meanwhile, CIMB Equities Research is maintaining an overweight stance on Malaysia following potential share placements by government-linked investment companies including Khazanah Nasional.

The research house said such corporate exercises would be a win-win move for Malaysia as they would increase free float and liquidity for government-linked companies (GLCs). The GLCs include Malaysian Airline System, PLUS Expressways, UEM Land, Pharmaniaga while Khazanah has also substantial stakes in Proton, Axiata, Telekom and Time Engineering.

UEM Land Weekly Chart

Plus Expressway Weekly Chart

"Placements could also help renew foreign investor interest and drive a re-rating of the market. We remain bullish on Malaysia and maintain our end-2010 FBM KLCI target of 1,400," said CIMB Research.

Selangor PROPERTIES [] Bhd posted net profit of RM33.3 million for 3Q ended July 31, up 182% from RM11.8 million a year ago, boosted by foreign exchange gains and higher profits from property development.

Revenue rose 36.5% to RM70.55 million from RM51.68 million. Earnings per share were 9.69 sen versus 3.44 sen.

In VASTALUX ENERGY BHD [], its executive vice chairman Mohamad Nor Abdul Rashid continued to reduce his stake in the company.

Vastalux Weekly Chart

He sold 3.98 million shares in the open market at prices ranging from 41 sen to 46.8 sen from Sept 4 to 23. The recent disposals reduced his stake to 63.73 million shares.

As for NSTP and Utusan Malaysia, investors could be ready to lock in gains after several days of gain following an upgrade by Macquarie Research.

UEMland Weekly Chart

Macquarie Research upgraded NSTP to outperform and a target price of RM2.50, based on a 12 times price-to-earnings (PER) for 2010E. NSTP closed 13 sen higher at RM2.29 last Friday while Media Prima added four sen to RM1.54 and Utusan jumped 12.5 sen to RM1.04.

NSTP's three newspapers in its fold account for 35% of total circulation and 22% of total newspaper advertising spending (adex), it had said in the report.

Source: Edgedaily