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 (June 25): After moving in negative territory for the most of the day, the FBM KLCI closed higher today on 11th hour bargain-hunting activities in selected heavyweight stocks.
The benchmark index ended the day 0.48 points or 0.03% higher at 1,676.61.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd deputy head of research Vincent Lau said the KLCI's higher closing was due to bargain hunting in oversold component index stocks such as Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) and Nestle (M) Bhd.
The late buying interest came despite most regional equity markets trading in the red amid a weaker sentiment ahead of the G20 summit later this week, Lau told theedgemarkets.com.
Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 0.43% today, South Korea's Kospi fell 0.22% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 1.15%.
On the local front, however, half of the KLCI components were in the green. TM closed 10 sen or 2.47% higher at RM4.15, while IOI Corp Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd both closed up six sen at RM4.26 and RM5.34 respectively.
Nestle, the day's second top gainer, closed 40 sen or 0.27% higher at RM149.
On the broader market, some 1.78 billion shares worth RM1.75 billion were traded. Losers led gainers by 413 to 364, while 394 counters remained unchanged.
Reuters reported that Asian shares were haunted by trade anxiety today while the risk of more dovish talk from the US Federal Reserve pushed down Treasury yields and the US dollar, propelling gold to fresh six-year peaks.
Investors are waiting anxiously to see if anything comes of Sino-US trade talks later this week and sentiment was not helped by reports US President Donald Trump would be content with "any outcome", the newswire added.
Trump is slated to meet one-on-one with at least eight world leaders at the G20 summit in Osaka, including China's President Xi Jinping and Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
Source: The Edge
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