'BN's wins may boost steel market sentiment'

The Barisan Nasional's (BN) victory in the general election may boost
market sentiment, particularly on steel stocks that have underperformed
the broad market, said RHB Research.

It said with BN retaining control of the federal government, the
implementation of mega projects awarded earlier may gain momentum and drive the demand for materials.

"BN's
pledge to continue with the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) may
see it roll out more projects to upgrade infrastructure and provide a
reliable public transportation system," it said in a note.

"This
may lift hopes that the various projects announced earlier but which
have yet to be dished out to contractors may soon materialise.






"This aside, BN's recently announced plans to build 1Malaysia
affordable homes -- including 500,000 PR1MA houses -- may spur demand
for materials," it added.

RHB Research believed that the
materials required for the construction of existing projects may not be
substantial as the usage would be spread over the next few years.

"The
implementation of new projects may also take a while as these may
involve prolonged planning and devour huge public budget," it said.

RHB Research upgraded its call on basic materials sector from 'neutral' to 'overweight’.

It maintained its 'buy' call on Cahya Mata Sarawak and upgraded Lafarge Malayan Cement to 'trading buy'.-- Bernama