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 (Oct 16): The FBM KLCI closed marginally lower today, dragged down mainly by telecommunication heavyweights.
The benchmark index closed 0.95 points or 0.05% lower at 1,754.37.
Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong Teck Meng said the index was affected by falls in telecommunications stocks such as Axiata Group Bhd, DiGi.com Bhd and Maxis Bhd.
“The telcos have been in the run-up for the past two to three months. So, it’s probably because of profit taking,” Wong told theedgemarkets.com.
Wong said there was continued rotational play in small- and mid- cap stocks.
“There is an interesting performance in small- and mid- caps stocks. And I foresee this to continue as investors are waiting for the details of Budget 2018, and quarterly results which are coming soon,” he added.
He said if the quarterly results are good, then this coupled with the Budget could be the catalysts for KLCI to rise further.
Overall, the market saw 3.16 billion shares worth RM2.27 billion traded. There were 372 gainers and 448 decliners.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.47%, South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.26% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.76%.
Nikkei rose to a fresh 21-year high as the dollar stayed steady against the yen, while index-heavyweight SoftBank surged on news that T-Mobile and Sprint plan to merge.
Traders' belief that Japan’s ruling party bloc will win the general election later this month continued to underpin market sentiment, and a weaker yen raised hopes that Japanese companies will report strong earnings, Reuters reported.
Source: The Edge
Comments
Post a Comment