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 2): The FBM KLCI fell 14.54 points or 0.91% today to close at its intraday low at 1,574.9 after the broader market reacted to weaker US manufacturing data, which underscored the impact of the US-China trade war on the US economy.
Reuters reported that global equity selling was triggered after the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) index of factory activity, one of the most closely-watched data on US manufacturing, dropped 1.3 points to 47.8, the lowest level since June 2009.
It was reported that a reading below 50 indicates contraction in the manufacturing sector.
"Markets had been expecting the index to rise back above 50. Global shares fell to one-month lows on Wednesday after US manufacturing activity tumbled to more than a decade low, sparking worries that the fallout from the US-China trade war is spreading to the US economy," Reuters said.
In Malaysia today, Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong Teck Meng said "the slump in manufacturing activity would trigger the question of whether the (economic) slowdown is faster than expected".
Across Bursa Malaysia, a total of 1.85 billion shares were traded for RM1.44 billion.
Selling was broad-based across Bursa indices except for the REIT, utilities and technology gauges. Major decliners included the plantation and energy indices, which closed down 1.5% and 1.05% respectively.
Bursa top stock decliners included KLCI counters Public Bank Bhd and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd.
The most-active stocks included Bumi Armada Bhd, which registered a volume at some 61 million shares. Bumi Armada's share price closed down one sen or 3.13% at 31 sen.
Source: The Edge
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