The Star Online: Business
The Star Online: Business |
| Posted: 17 Jun 2011 07:58 PM PDT MALAYSIA Airlines has been on the slide the past several years. After peaking out at RM4.64 on Oct 3, 2007, it reversed slightly due to an apparent profit-taking activity. The breather was necessary at this stage due to an overbought reason but what was seen as a typical correction process turned ugly later, as continuous liquidation pressure dampened sentiment, thus pulling prices to a low of RM1.34 in late May this year, the worst since April 1999. Thereafter, they drifted sideways on bargain hunting interest offsetting selling which saw the shares ending up four sen to RM1.43 yesterday. Based on the daily bar chart, it looks like this blue chip counter have found the bottom after a long bearish phase. Perhaps, investors can consider accumulating some shares now. The oscillator per cent K and the oscillator per cent D of the daily slow-stochastic momentum index were seen inching up gradually from the grossly oversold area after triggering a short-term buy yesterday. Similarly, the 14-day relative strength index improved moderately from a reading of 26 to settle at the 55 points level yesterday. The daily moving average convergence/divergence histogram kept expanding upward against the daily signal line to retain the positive note. It had issued a buy a week ago. Technically, indicators suggest a steadier trend in the short term. Initial resistance is expected at the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) of RM1.66, followed by the 100-day SMA of RM1.80. A push above the next upper hurdle of RM2 mark, which is the 200-day SMA, would give investors the confirmation of a bullish turnaround. Trailing exit is pegged at the recent lows of RM1.34. ● The comments above do not represent a recommendation to buy or sell. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Market to be trapped in the short term Posted: 17 Jun 2011 07:57 PM PDT REVIEW: Bursa Malaysia started out on a soft platform, with the FBM Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (FBM KLCI) dropping a significant 4.48 points to 1,551.71, as investors took the excuse of the lack of fresh market-stimulating leads to lock in profit following gains in the previous session. A lower overnight US markets, which saw the Dow sagging 172.45 points to 11,951.91 and the crude oil sinking US$2.64 to US$99.29 the previous Friday on growing worries about the health of the global economy and on Saudi Arabia's offer of more oil to Asian refiners respectively, added to the downbeat note. Elsewhere, a generally frail performance in Asian equities on growing concerns about a slowdown in the Chinese economy pressured the local bourse, prompting the local players to exercise caution in their trading approach. Mirroring the negative offshore trend, the key index drifted deeper into the red on follow-through selling to close at the day's low of 1,545.88, down 10.31 points on Monday. The index's settlement at the day's ebb was interpreted a bearish sign and it usually will open the doors for more downward spiral, but in an unprecedented move, Bursa avoided the beating, as a pretty flat-to marginally steadier finish in overnight Wall Street provided a degree of comfort for the big funds to seek value buys. Though there was a bit of stability on the broad front, the upside appeared capped, with sluggish regional peers and falling oil prices weighing on the local sentiment. In the absence of solid buying, the FBM KLCI traded range-bound to marginally higher, between an intra-day high and low of 1,551.83 and 1,543.56 respectively before ending at 1,548.61, gaining 2.63 points in mixed note on Tuesday. In another sideways to moderately firmer bias showing, the key index scaled in a snail pace from the 1,547.92 in early deals to settle at 1,556.19, up 7.68 points on Monday, tracking the firmer overnight Wall Street. After two days of calm, global markets sentiment turned for the worse in the wake of fresh selling, as renewed worries intensified that Greece's debt troubles were worsening, stoking contagion fears. Adding to investor unease, Moody's threatened large French banks with possible downgrades. With overnight Wall Street resuming the downward momentum, diving a hefty 1.48% and Asian equities joining the liquidation spree, the local bourse succumbed to tremendous stress to retreat but unlike the overseas peers, losses on the home front were marginal, as light accumulation on weakness somewhat helped cushion the downside. At Thursday's closing bell, the key index eased only 1.95 points to 1,554.24 in a generally band trading. Yesterday, the local bourse staged a mild recovery, up 9.19 points to 1.563.43, encouraged by a modest rebound in Wall Street overnight. Statistics: Week-on-week, the principal index advanced 7.24 points, or 0.5% to 1,563.43 yesterday, compared with 1,556.19 on June 10. Total turnover for the week amounted to 4.121 billion shares worth RM7.805bil, against 3.674 billion units valued at RM6.608bil done a week ago. Technical indicators: The oscillator per cent K and the oscillator per cent D of the daily slow-stochastic momentum index scaled higher to close at approximately 81% and 61% respectively yesterday. Also on the rise, the 14-day relative strength index improved moderately from the 45 points level on Monday to 64 points yesterday. The daily moving average convergence/divergence histogram had indicated a positive convergence pictogram and on the verge of flashing a buy signal. Weekly indicators were tricky, with the weekly slow-stochastic momentum index flashing a tentative sell at the overbought area and the weekly MACD making an attempt to climb over the weekly trigger line. Outlook: Bursa eked out a small plus note amid continuous bargain hunting interest offsetting profit-taking activity the past week. Market actions indicated the bulls were eager to ascent after the recent breather but they found the path a little bumpy for a decent march, as prevailing external uncertainty, particularly concerns over the eurozone lingering debt crisis and the expectations of further monetary tightening in China kept investors on edge. In the absence of concrete backing from investors to spark a rally, it appears the local bourse is likely to be trapped in the short term, pending clearer picture to emerge and this may mean range-bound trade this week. Technically, the improving landscape suggest the FBM KLCI may be sideways, with a mild upward bias in the immediate term. To the upside, the near-term objective would be to challenge the all-time peak of 1,576.95, established on Jan 6. Support is envisaged at the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) of 1,540, followed by the 100-day SMA of 1,528 and the next, at 1,511, which is the 200-day SMA. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Posted: 17 Jun 2011 07:56 PM PDT Strong demand continues to push up already high prices, especially landed properties. Future generations will have to get used to living in a box in the sky. The past six months have seen a deluge of property advertisements in the Friday, Saturday and Sunday newspaper issues. There are eager buyers out there, still. And this interest will probably continue until the end of this year, notwithstanding the growing worries in Europe and the US and the bubble-like scenario in China and Hong Kong. When it comes to property investment, a buyer's first option will always be for landed units. But as a former head of mortgage of a local bank lamented, of late, launches of landed properties have been few and far between. They are either very pricey or out of the way from the mainstream city life (or both). But despite the issue of price and location, landed units continue to be popular. In April, the KL Kepong group launched the first phase of Bandar Seri Coalfields in Sungai Buloh, Selangor. About 40 units of 22 ft by 75 ft and 72 units of 24 ft by 75 ft double-storey housing priced from RM308,000 and RM348,000 respectively were put on sale. A total of 112 units were released into the market. It was so popular that the remaining 107 and 56 units of the respective sizes were soon put up for sale at increased prices starting from RM328,000 and RM368,000 respectively, representing an increase of 6.5% and 5.7%. Altogether, a total of 340 units were launched on two separate occasions in the first phase sale of this new township. Over in Setia Alam, Shah Alam, one of Malaysia's largest developers, SP Setia Bhd, launched double storey cluster housing (30 ft by 55 ft) last Saturday, priced from RM568,000. A ballot was organised for the 116 units. Over in Klang, IOI Properties sold about half of its 128 units of freehold two-storey terrace houses in Bandar Puteri, Klang priced from RM468,800. This project was launched in April. The unsold ones are located close to the highway or junctions. Over in Desa ParkCity, despite a price tag of RM2.8mil, The Mansions by Perdana ParkCity Sdn Bhd proved to be highly popular. A ballot was also organised for this. Although they were sold as terraced link houses, they were not of the same category as those launched in Sg Buloh and Shah Alam, as the ParkCity offerings have built-ups averaging from 5,000 to 6,000 sq ft. They have the space of semi-detached houses although they were sold as linked terrace housing located in a niche housing development. A single feature linked all the above four launches; they are landed units and other than the Klang project, they were all sold in a jiffy, despite the high price tag and the fact that some of these properties are located in Sg Buloh. When it comes to the sale of landed units, the strategy taken by developers today is different from that used several years ago. Today, a small number of units are released, which gives the developer the opportunity to increase prices if the demand is good. Gone are the days when developers of townships launch 800 units of landed houses at one go with a single price structure. KL Kepong's Bandar Seri Coalfields is a township of about 1,000 acres. This will take years to complete. SP Setia's Setia Alam is also a township of considerable size. Over at ParkCity, at less than 500 acres, it is not a township but a small community that will have a population of about 7,000 in the future. However, other than using a different strategy in order to have better profit margins on the part of developer, there is also the need to look at quality as cost of construction increases. Buyers will have to look out for that. There are a lot of things which house buyers do not see when they view a dressed-up' show unit. These include the wiring, plumbing and what's inside the plastered walls. Because of the buoyant demand today, there is the temptation to cut corners on the part of the developers as they go for better profit margins. However, there are also developers, who, having made their name and created a brand, will provide quality, which they charge buyers for and this is fair. From a consumer's point of view, it is better to be charged for a product or service of quality, than to have to pay for the lack of it later. Once the price for landed units goes beyond the means of most, buyers will then consider high rise condominium units. Already, we are seeing quite a few very high end, high rise condominiums being promoted today. In Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, a project will be launched soon, where a 1,500 sq ft box in the sky is expected to cost RM1.9mil; fully-furnished right down to the built-in microwave. While all of us have seen the prices of landed units surge in the last 18 months, the time may have come for us to see prices go up for high rise condominium projects too. A condominium project, with units averaging 2000 sq ft in Segambut Dalam, with high-tension cables splicing across half of the project and the NKVE at one end, were quicky sold at a price averaging half a million ringgit. The finishing and the sanitary and plumbing system were not of a high quality either and little can be said about the location. Just because of the sharp demand for properties and as landed units in the Klang Valley become scarce, it is hoped that the quality of construction and materials used will not be compromised, both for landed and high rise residencies; especially, when the residency comes in a box in the sky. Assistant news editor Thean Lee Cheng believes that quality workmanship and after-sales service are crucial if the property sector is to set new benchmarks. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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