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 (Sept 26): The FBM KLCI closed 4.25 points or 0.24% higher after China-US trade war concerns subsided.
Asian shares also took cue from China equity gains after MSCI indicated it will consider quadrupling the weighting of Chinese big caps in its global benchmarks.
At Bursa Malaysia, the KLCI ended at 1,798.72 points. In China, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite rose 0.92% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 1.15%. Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.39% while South Korea markets remained close today for the Chuseok Day holiday.
Reuters reported that Asian shares pulled ahead on Wednesday as Chinese markets extended their recovery to hit eight-week highs on receding fears about the trade war as well as hopes China's weighting in the global benchmark will be increased.
It was reported that MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.5 percent. It was reported that MSCI said it will consider quadrupling the weighting of Chinese big caps in its global benchmarks and also proposed adding mid-caps and shares listed on Shenzhen's start-up board ChiNext.
In Malaysia, Vincent Lau, who is Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd’s vice president of research told theedgemarkets.com that the improvement in sentiment was seen across the board as oil and gas shares emerged among Bursa Malaysia's top-active counters.
“The Malaysian stock market has seen an improved sentiment. If you look at the month of September, the (funds) outflow has moderated. In fact, I think there is a slight positive on the foreign fund flow during the month so far. It’s a sign that the concerns over the impact from US-China trade tariff (war) have moderated and much of it has been priced into the market before this,” Lau said.
Source: The Edge

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