Strategy AffinHwang Capital Research downgrades KLCI to Neutral

by **Cals** Wed 04 Mar 2015, 01:24

Strategy
AffinHwang Capital Research downgrades KLCI to Neutral

By TheEdge Markets.com / theedgemarkets.com | March 3, 2015 : 9:48 AM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR (March 3): [size=14]AffinHwang Capital Research has downgraded the FBM KLCI to Neutral (from Overweigh) and said that not unexpectedly, the 4Q14 report card showed another disappointing quarter, but the number of disappointments fell versus 3Q14.

In a note Tuesday, the research house said with the FBM KLCI recording a 0.2% earnings contraction for 2014, it was lowering its 2015E earnings growth by 4 percentage points to 4%.

“We retain our end-2015 KLCI target of 1,820.

“We expect the market to be range-bound with a negative bias, as sentiment remains weak due to macroeconomic concerns,” it said.

The research said it continues to like Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard) (resilient business with recurring revenues); ii) IJM Corporation Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard) (infrastructure exposure); iii) Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard) (US$ revenues); iv) Public Bank Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard) andHong Leong Bank Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard)(consumer banking); and (v) Tenaga Nasional Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard) (broad economic growth).

“Among dividend stocks, we like Malayan Banking Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard), Berjaya Sports-Toto Bhd, andMaxis Holdings Bhd, beside IGB REIT ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard) and Axis REIT ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard). Meanwhile, our least-preferred stocks include AMMB Holdings Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard), UMW Oil & Gas Corporation Bhd, Malaysia Marine & Heavy Engineering Bhd and AirAsia-X Bhd ([You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Financial Dashboard), for which we do not expect a turnaround in the near term,” it said.

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