Stocks to watch: SP Setia, YTL Corp, Proton, SEGi

KUALA LUMPUR: Stocks on Bursa Malaysia may consolidate on Friday, April 15 following the mixed overnight performance on Wall Street while on the local front, the pullback on Thursday and political concerns over Sunday’s polls in Sarawak could see investors staying on the sidelines.

On Wall Street, stocks that outperform in a weak economy helped the Dow and S&P 500 eke out gains on Thursday as concerns about faltering growth and inflation prompted investors to seek out less volatile names.

The Dow industrials' top percentage gainers were Coca-Cola Co, up 1.5 percent, Kraft Foods Inc, up 1.7 percent and Merck & Co, up 1.2 percent. Energy shares also rallied as U.S. crude oil futures gained more than 1 percent to trade above $108 a barrel.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 14.16 points, or 0.12 percent, to end at 12,285.15. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 0.11 of a point, or 0.01 percent, to 1,314.52. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.30 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,760.22.

At Bursa, stocks to watch out for are SP SETIA BHD, YTL Corp, PROTON HOLDINGS BHD and SEG INTERNATIONAL BHD.

The Edge FinancialDaily reports that SP Setia Bhd is making its maiden venture into Singapore. The developer has proposed the purchase of 27 strata units in Leong Bee Court for S$65 million (RM159 million) with the plan to redevelop the property, currently comprising flats, into residential apartments.

Having missed the opportunity to pick up assets at basement prices during the global financial crisis, YTL Corp Bhd's Tan Sri Francis Yeoh Sock Ping believes a second chance at a shopping spree could be knocking on YTL's door.

Proton Holdings Bhd’s unit Lotus Cars Ltd will sign an agreement on syndicated financing with CIMB Bank, Maybank, OCBC, EON Bank, Exim Bank and Affin on Friday.

SEG International Bhd is teaming up with Chung Cheong University in South Korea to train and place nurses and allied health professionals in the US, Canada and Europe.

SEGi said the academic collaboration was expected to contribute an increase in earnings of approximately 4% to the group for FY ending Dec 31, 2011.

IJM Land Bhd’s additional 229.88 million new shares will be granted listing and quotation with effect from 9am on Monday, April 18. The new shares arose from the conversion of RM400 million nominal value of 10 year 3% coupon redeemable convertible unsecured loan stocks (RCULS)by IJM Corp Bhd.

NAIM HOLDINGS BHD disposed of two million shares in DAYANG ENTERPRISE HOLDINGS BHD on April 13, reducing its stake to 34.17% or 187.94 million shares.