NST Online Business Times : latest
NST Online Business Times : latest |
| KL shares seen moderately firmer next week Posted: 11 Nov 2011 07:41 PM PST The FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (FBM KLCI) is likely to trend moderately higher towards 1,500 level next week, dealers said. They said the leadership changes in Italy and Greece had raised hopes of a resolution to the eurozone debt crisis. Affin Investment Bank head of retail research, Dr Nazri Khan, said the local market breadth was expected to be positive with important local sectoral indices such as financials, trading services, technology and small cap indices making a strong comeback after recent declines. He said in spite of volatility in global markets due to the threat of economic slowdown, the local sentiment would remain resilient and traders should use temporary weakness in the local market to ride out potential year-end rally.
On downside risk, Nazri said, any new talks of radical overhaul and breakup of the European Union may unsettle investors and create a fresh wave of volatility in global financial markets. Nazri recommended traders accumulate high-yield, defensive and small-cap stocks in the telco and utilities sectors (such as Yi Lai, Signature, NCB Holding and Century Logistic) which may rebound after undergoing a deep correction in the previous months. He said Bank Negara Malaysia's decision to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate unchanged at three per cent amid a moderate global growth momentum should also be positive for the local market as it provided more certainty and stability in business funding cost. On a Friday-to-Friday, the benchmark FBM KLCI declined 8.76 points to 1,468.75. Bursa Malaysia's Finance Index dropped 132.08 points to 13,152.76, Plantation Index slipped 27.74 points to 7,519.15 and Industrial Index declined 16.81 points to 2,684.89. The FBM Emas Index slipped 32.82 points to 10,039.33, FBM70 Index increased 10.86 points to 10,853.62, FBM ACE Index increased 68.87 points to 4,268.61 and FBM Top 100 Index decreased 44.12 points to 9,846.52. Total volume increased to 9.203 billion shares valued at RM6.049 billion from 8.15 billion shares valued at RM7.22 billion last week. The main market turnover rose to 6.784 billion shares worth RM5.72 billion from 5.76 billion shares worth RM6.91 billion previously. Warrants slipped to 384.614 million units valued at RM34.419 million from 442 million units valued at RM36.75 million last Friday. Volume on the ACE market went up to 2.009 billion shares worth RM289.039 million from two billion shares worth RM257.73 million last week. -- Bernama |
| iPhone 4S make frenzied debut in new marts Posted: 11 Nov 2011 04:47 PM PST HONG KONG: Apple's new iPhone 4S made glitzy and chaotic debuts in three new Asian markets on Friday, with customers and profiteers queuing for up to a week to get their hands on the popular gadget. Thousands of people thronged Apple's new harbourside store in the southern Chinese city of Hong Kong as staff cheered and clapped, while midnight launches in South Korea and New Zealand featured celebrities and sports stars. Top South Korean mobile operator SK Telecom put the iPhone 4S on sale at midnight for 100 enthusiasts who had placed pre-orders, with the country's most popular actor Wonbin and actress Shin Min-A counting down to the time. Hip-hop musicians performed at the event at the company's headquarters.
Die-hard fans had been keenly awaiting an upgrade to the earlier iPhone 4 long before the 4S was unveiled on October 4. "I've been waiting for the iPhone 4S for over a year, and I didn't hesitate when I heard the news that it will be sold in Korea," said Lee Jae-Kwang, 31, the first in line for the phone at SK Telecom. The latest version of Apple's "must-have" accessory was due to roll out in 12 other markets from Europe to Latin America later in the day. The celebratory atmosphere was soured in Hong Kong by the presence of dozens of aggressive profiteers and professional queuers who established a grey market outside the store almost as soon as the phones went on sale at 7:00am. "I have collected about 198 phones since this morning from my queuers," said mobile phone dealer Ken Wong, adding he paid the queuers around US$70 each for their efforts. He said the phones were for his "friends and customers". "The response on the iPhone 4S has been overwhelming," he added. Regular customer Xu Yaojun came from Xiamen in China with his wife and eight-year-old daughter, who skipped school for the occasion. He arrived at 10:00am but staff told him there were only enough phones in stock for people who had waited in the queue, which was about 1,500-strong when the store opened its doors. "The staff told me the phones are all sold out... I can't wait for the official release in (mainland) China, that's why I'm here," the 33-year-old businessman said. He said he would have to pay extra to buy an iPhone 4S on the grey market. The launch was more laid back in New Zealand, where about 100 people showed up for the midnight launch in Auckland. Telecom Corp laid on pizza and entertainment, and All Black rugby star Dan Carter manned the sales desk. The iPhone 4S is already a record-breaker for an Apple product, with more than a million sales in the first 24 hours of pre-orders when it first went on sale last month, shortly after the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. The latest in the iPhone series boasts faster speeds, a voice-controlled assistant called Siri and an improved camera. New Zealander Jonathan Mosen, who is blind, queued for six hours to ensure he got his hands on the phone, saying its voice recognition technology was a boon for the visually impaired. "It's the only cellphone you can take out of the box and it is usable by a blind person," he told Fairfax Media. Apple plans to make the iPhone 4S available in more than 70 countries by the end of the year. The buyer frenzy comes despite software bugs that have caused some iPhone 4S owners to report lower than expected battery life, and reports that the Siri software may not cope well with foreign accents. Consumer Reports, the influential magazine for product reviews, gave the new model a thumbs up on Tuesday after declining to recommend the previous iPhone version because of reception problems. - AFP |
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