#Stocks to watch:* SP Setia, DXN, Talam, HELP

KUALA LUMPUR: Stocks on Bursa Malaysia are expected to open on a cautious note on Friday, Sept 24 after the market staged a pullback on Thursday, sending the FBM KLCI down 16.67 points to 1,458.08.

The pullback, which analysts said was not unexpected due to weaker external factors including the decline on European markets, saw the Malaysian market capitalization reduced to RM1.152 trillion from RM1.163 trillion on Thursday.

Year-to-date, the FBM KLCI is up 14.56% while in US dollars term, it is up 27.09%.

In Tokyo, Japan's Nikkei average fell 1.5 percent on Friday after a weak reading on the U.S. job market pushed down shares on Wall Street.

The benchmark Nikkei dropped 145.96 points to 9,420.36. The broader Topix index declined 1.3 percent to 835.88.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks fell on Thursday after a weak reading on the labor market dropped stocks through a key technical level, validating the worries of those who thought the recent rally was flimsy, according to Reuters.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 76.89 points, or 0.72 percent, at 10,662.42. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 9.45 points, or 0.83 percent, at 1,124.83. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 7.47 points, or 0.32 percent, at 2,327.08.

Adding to investor concerns, European data showed the pace of growth in the euro zone's services and manufacturing sector slowing more than expected. Existing-home sales rose in August by 7.6 percent from a 13-year low recorded in July, Reuters reported.

Stocks to watch on Bursa Malaysia are SP Setia, DXN HOLDINGS BHD [], Talam Corp Bhd and HELP International Bhd.

Also in focus would be cigarette companies including BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (M) [] Bhd and JT INTERNATIONAL BHD [].

InsiderAsia reports cigarette companies are likely to be waiting for the upcoming Budget 2011 with some anxiety.

'This is typically the time the government announces additional taxes to be levied on the industry, and it has raised taxes every year since 2003,' according to the report which appears in The Edge FinancialDaily.

SP SETIA BHD [] posted a strong set of results, with earnings at RM87.25 million for the third quarter ended July 31, 2010 versus RM42.68 million a year ago.

It said revenue increased 13.5% to RM414.90 million from RM365.57 million. Earnings per share were 8.58 sen versus 4.2 sen.

SP Setia also said the group has achieved sales of RM1.95 billion as at Aug 31, achieving its full year FY2010 sales target of RM2 billion, two months ahead of its financial year ending Oct 31.

DXN Holdings Bhd has set a dividend policy of distributing at least 50% of the group's net profit to shareholders with immediate effect. The dividend is to be paid on a quarterly basis.

Kumpulan Euro Bhd disposed of 100 million shares of Talam Corp Bhd, or 3.36%, for RM9.94 million on Sept 22 and 23.

The shares arose from the recent conversion of redeemable convertible secured loan stock-D which were acquired on June 25.

ZELAN BHD [] disposed of 7.03 million IJM Corp Bhd shares in the open market on Sept 21 and 23 for a total consideration of RM35.97 million.

It said the shares, or 0.52% of IJM's paid-up capital, were disposed in the open market at an average price of RM5.13 per share.

The original cost of investment of the sale shares was approximately RM4.14 per share at group level and RM3.50 per share at company level.

HELP International Corp Bhd posted a strong set of earnings for the third quarter ended July 31 with net profit of RM3.23 million versus RM2.92 million a year ago. Revenue was RM23.38 million compared with RM21.59 million. Earnings per share was 3.6 sen versus 3.3 sen.