Intel heads into its April 23 earnings with rising investor expectations , but the key question remains whether AI-driven CPU demand can offset ongoing margin weakness . Revenue Stable, But Margins Under Pressure Intel is expected to deliver Q1 revenue around US$12.4 billion , slightly above the midpoint of its guidance range. However, the real concern lies in profitability: Gross margin guided at 34.5% , down from 39.2% a year ago EPS near breakeven (~US$0.00) vs US$0.13 last year This highlights continued pressure from costs, utilisation, and product mix , despite improving demand signals. AI CPUs: A Key Growth Driver Intel’s near-term bullish case centers on AI-related CPU demand , particularly its Xeon processors. A key development is its partnership with Alphabet , which reinforces: Intel’s role in AI data centre infrastructure Growing demand for AI inference and general-purpose computing Investors will watch c...
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 27): Malaysian stocks closed higher on the first trading day after the long Christmas break, lifted by selected blue chips.
At closing bell, the key FBM KLCI gained 2.53 points or 0.16% to end the day at 1,619.68 points versus last Friday's closing of 1,617.15 points.
The rise in the index could be partially attributed to the increase in share price of British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd (BAT), PPB Group Bhd and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK), which were among the top gainers today.
"This is the final week of the year and I am expecting some late window dressing," TA Securities Holdings Bhd senior technical analyst Stephen Soo told theedgemarkets.com over the phone.
Technically, he said the index fell to a low of near to 1,616 points, signalling that the downside of the key index was mostly cushioned.
"Hence, I am looking for some potential window dressing by the local funds towards the end of the year," he added.
He expects the benchmark index to trade in the range of 1,685 points to 1,729 points towards the end of the year.
A total of 1.09 billion shares worth RM1.03 billion changed hands today. Market breadth was slightly negative, with 375 losers versus 333 gainers and 336 counters were traded unchanged.
The top gainers were led by BAT, which gained 56 sen to settle at RM43.06, while the top loser was Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd, falling 94 sen to close at RM77.40.
The most actively traded stock was Borneo Oil Bhd, inching up 0.5 sen to close at 18.5 sen, with 65.41 million shares traded.
Mixed performance was seen across the regional key indices. South Korea's Kospi settled 0.22% higher and Japan's Nikkei 225 inched up marginally by 0.03%. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.28%, while Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.25% lower.
Source: The Edge
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