KUALA LUMPUR: Stocks on Bursa Malaysia could trade range bound on Friday, Jan 28 despite the slightly firmer overnight close on Wall Street.
With the short trading week ahead due to the Chinese New Year holidays, investors may be reluctant to take fresh positions.
However, there could be some trading interest in oil and gas counters after Petronas Nasional Bhd said it will develop marginal oilfields to boost Malaysia's oil production.
Banks could be in focus after Bank Negara said it is maintaining the overnight policy rate at 2.75% as it considers current monetary policy stance as appropriate and consistent. However, Bank Negara said additional policy tools may be considered to avoid the risks of macroeconomic and financial imbalances.
On Wall Street, strong corporate earnings led Wall Street to a 29-month closing high for a second day on Thursday, but another run of big gains may be harder to achieve. The Dow and the S&P struggled to advance past major technical levels -- the 12,000 mark for the Dow and 1,300 for the S&P -- but investors see more gains for companies that outperform in their earnings.
Microsoft Corp surprised Wall Street with a better-than-expected profit, but its shares stayed flat as investors expressed concern about the weakness of computer sales.
The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 4.39 points, or 0.04 percent, at 11,989.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed up 2.91 points, or 0.22 percent, at 1,299.54. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 15.78 points, or 0.58 percent, at 2,755.28.
Stocks to watch on Friday are oil and gas players after Petronas, for the first time ever, announced its decision to'' develop marginal oilfields to boost Malaysia's oil production. The development of the initial four clusters will be via service contracts and not the normal production sharing contracts (PSCs).
The Edge FinancialDaily reports interest in oil and gas stocks may spill over to the sector's laggards which have yet to catch up with the rally in the broader industry and which observers say could somehow benefit when the flow of investments accelerates in the sector.
Other stocks in focus will be Benalec Holdings Bhd, TALIWORKS CORPORATION BHD [], PERISAI PETROLEUM TEKNOLOGI [] Bhd and INTEGRAX BHD [].
Benalec is acquiring two handysize bulkcarriers for US$6.8 million (RM20.75 million) to expand its fleet to transport sand for land reclamation activities.
It said the acquisitions are to facilitate the expansion of Benalec group's fleet of vessels, in particular vessels for transporting of sand for land reclamation activities.
Taliworks will take over four municipal waste water treatment plants with recycled water facilities in Yinchuan City, China after it had failed to formalise the JV company with Beijing Puresino-Boda Environmental Engineering Co. Ltd (BODA).
The company said it would be on a takeover-operate-transfer basis for 810 renminbi or RM374.71 million.
Perisai has proposed to acquire a 51% stake in Intan Offshore Sdn Bhd for RM45.23 million via new shares. With the acquisition, Perisai Group will enhance its ability to compete in the vessel supply and chartering business while gaining access to new revenue streams around the region.
Integrax has taken legal action against Amin Halim Rasip, alleging he had breached his fiduciary duties and want the court to issue an order to restrain him from acting as a director or co-chief executive officer.
The company had filed an action at the High Court of Malaya against Amin and sought a declaration he had allegedly acted in breach of his fiduciary duties to the plaintiffs.
With the short trading week ahead due to the Chinese New Year holidays, investors may be reluctant to take fresh positions.
However, there could be some trading interest in oil and gas counters after Petronas Nasional Bhd said it will develop marginal oilfields to boost Malaysia's oil production.
Banks could be in focus after Bank Negara said it is maintaining the overnight policy rate at 2.75% as it considers current monetary policy stance as appropriate and consistent. However, Bank Negara said additional policy tools may be considered to avoid the risks of macroeconomic and financial imbalances.
On Wall Street, strong corporate earnings led Wall Street to a 29-month closing high for a second day on Thursday, but another run of big gains may be harder to achieve. The Dow and the S&P struggled to advance past major technical levels -- the 12,000 mark for the Dow and 1,300 for the S&P -- but investors see more gains for companies that outperform in their earnings.
Microsoft Corp surprised Wall Street with a better-than-expected profit, but its shares stayed flat as investors expressed concern about the weakness of computer sales.
The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 4.39 points, or 0.04 percent, at 11,989.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed up 2.91 points, or 0.22 percent, at 1,299.54. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 15.78 points, or 0.58 percent, at 2,755.28.
Stocks to watch on Friday are oil and gas players after Petronas, for the first time ever, announced its decision to'' develop marginal oilfields to boost Malaysia's oil production. The development of the initial four clusters will be via service contracts and not the normal production sharing contracts (PSCs).
The Edge FinancialDaily reports interest in oil and gas stocks may spill over to the sector's laggards which have yet to catch up with the rally in the broader industry and which observers say could somehow benefit when the flow of investments accelerates in the sector.
Other stocks in focus will be Benalec Holdings Bhd, TALIWORKS CORPORATION BHD [], PERISAI PETROLEUM TEKNOLOGI [] Bhd and INTEGRAX BHD [].
Benalec is acquiring two handysize bulkcarriers for US$6.8 million (RM20.75 million) to expand its fleet to transport sand for land reclamation activities.
It said the acquisitions are to facilitate the expansion of Benalec group's fleet of vessels, in particular vessels for transporting of sand for land reclamation activities.
Taliworks will take over four municipal waste water treatment plants with recycled water facilities in Yinchuan City, China after it had failed to formalise the JV company with Beijing Puresino-Boda Environmental Engineering Co. Ltd (BODA).
The company said it would be on a takeover-operate-transfer basis for 810 renminbi or RM374.71 million.
Perisai has proposed to acquire a 51% stake in Intan Offshore Sdn Bhd for RM45.23 million via new shares. With the acquisition, Perisai Group will enhance its ability to compete in the vessel supply and chartering business while gaining access to new revenue streams around the region.
Integrax has taken legal action against Amin Halim Rasip, alleging he had breached his fiduciary duties and want the court to issue an order to restrain him from acting as a director or co-chief executive officer.
The company had filed an action at the High Court of Malaya against Amin and sought a declaration he had allegedly acted in breach of his fiduciary duties to the plaintiffs.
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