Trading ideas: BCorp, SMTRack, AAX, MSM, Atrium REIT, Pentamaster, Plytec, Yoong Onn

KUALA LUMPUR: Stocks to watch on Friday include Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp), SMTrack Bhd, AirAsia X Bhd (AAX), MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd, Atrium Real Estate Investment Trust’s (Atrium REIT), Pentamaster Corp Bhd, Plytec Holdings Bhd and Yoong Onn Corporation Bhd, according to Apex Securities.

BCorp has emerged as a substantial shareholder of Salcon Bhd, after acquiring a 5.43% stake on Thursday. Following the acquisition of the stake comprising 55 million shares.

SMTrack has appointed Johor royal, Tunku Kamariah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah Sultan Iskandar, 67, as its non-executive chairman.

AAX has submitted an appeal against Bursa Securities’ recent decision to reject the medium- and long-haul budget carrier's application to exit Practice Note 17 (PN17) status.

MSM has agreed to discontinue the legal proceedings against Gas Malaysia Energy and Services Sdn Bhd over a disputed sum of RM10.32mil relating to gas supply to its wholly-owned unit MSM Sugar Refinery (Johor) Sdn Bhd.

Atrium REIT’s asset manager Atrium REIT Managers Sdn Bhd has acquired buildings and leasehold land in Shah Alam from a related party, Amazing Blitz Sdn Bhd, for RM41 million cash.

Pentamaster Corp Bhd’s net profit grew 17.1% to RM23.5 million or 3.3 sen per share in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023(3Q2023) from RM20.07 million or 2.82 sen per share a year ago, as it saw improvements across its business segments, mainly its factory automation solutions (FAS) segment.

Plytec's 30.3 million new shares involved in the public portion of its initial public offering have been oversubscribed by 6.72 times. The construction engineering solution provider said that the public portion had received 3,451 applications for 233.87 million shares.

Yoong Onn has proposed to acquire a 60% stake in Singapore-based TC Homeplus for a total cash consideration of S$10.95mil (approximately RM38.16mil). According to the group, TC Homeplus is principally involved in the business of trading, distributing and retailing curtains, pillow cases, bed sheets and bed spreads.

Overnight, the US stock markets rallied for the fourth straight session as US Treasury yields retreated with expectations that the Federal Reserve is wrapping up their rate hike campaign for this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 564.50 points or 1.7% to 33,839.08, the Nasdaq surged 232.72 points or 1.8% to 13,294.19 and the S&P 500 spiked 79.92 points or 1.9% to 4,317.78.

Apex Securities reckoned that the FBM KLCI could extend its rebound, taking cue from Wall Street’s bullish momentum.

Still, recovery is expected to be measured at this point of time, given that there was an absence of fresh leads from the local front.

“The lower liners may also see improved trading sentiment on the back of rebound play, riding onto previous session net buying position from foreign funds.

“Investors will continue to monitor the US October jobs report and corporate earnings. Meanwhile, the China as well as US Services and Composite data will be monitored closely,” Apex said.