Daily Commentaries 22nd Mar 07

The local bourse gained 4 points in thin trading. Top volume movers were the call warrants and second liners. Among notable headlines today: KFH has indicated its interest in a 49% stake in RHB Islamic; Maybank plans to set up a stand-alone Islamic bank; assurance from Khazanah that Proton’s shareholders are still in talks with VW and GM on a possible strategic alliance; MMC considering a bond issue to finance construction of Ipoh-Padang Besar double-track rail project; and the possibility of Maxis joining Usaha Tegas to buy a stake in Sri Lanka Telecom. KLCI may extend its gains today with two positive news on the macro front: BNM announced sweeping measures to further liberalise the forex policy while Ringgit closed at RM3.47 against the US$. Meanwhile, The Dow rallied last night investors embraced further evidence that the Fed continues to do a good job of engineering the expected soft landing. Immediate resistance and support for KLCI remains at 1,214 and 1,200 level, respectively.