Daily Commentaries 31st Jan 07

Profit taking on the KLCI was well absorbed towards the later period of the second session, swinging the local bourse to a positive 3.89 points from yesterday’s close. Top corporate news today are RHB’s announcement that it is “currently considering” the offer for sale of RHB Capital shares, Lafarge’s proposal of a 20sen capital repayment, as well as Proton’s plans to acquire the remaining 49% stake in its Indonesian subsidiary. Meanwhile, Proton has denied a report that it has agreed to sell a stake in its manufacturing arm to Volkswagen while Petra Perdana has secured a RM55m contract from Shell. BNM will introduce a risk-based regulatory regime which includes a new risk based capital framework for insurance companies in Malaysia. The Dow finished higher overnight driven by optimism about the economy. Resistance and support for the KLCI remains at 1,180 and 1,170 respectively.