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 (Nov 6): The FBM KLCI pared losses to finish 3.49 points or 0.22% lower today as Asian shares tracked US equity futures amid growing enthusiasm over a US-China trade deal.
At 5pm, the KLCI, which had earlier declined to its intraday low of 1,597.18, finished at 1,603.25 after US equity futures erased losses. Among US stock futures, the Dow Jones mini rose eight points or 0.03% to 27,429 at 5:31pm after falling to its intraday low.
Reuters, quoting latest reports, reported today China is pushing President Donald Trump to remove more tariffs as part of the “phase one” deal, which may be signed this month.
In Malaysia, Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd research head Pong Teng Siew told theedgemarkets.com Asian stock markets including Bursa Malaysia had earlier tracked lower US equity futures, which led to cautious profit taking across Asian shares.
"All in, it is more of a 'down day' than an 'up day' for the Asian stock markets," Pong said.
Across Bursa, turnover stood at 2.71 billion shares worth RM1.72 billion as a stronger ringgit appeared to dictate Malaysia share-trade dynamics.
Top decliners included KLCI stocks Top Glove Corp Bhd and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd, possibly as investors evaluated the impact of a stronger ringgit against these companies' US dollar-based earnings.
Top Glove closed down 13 sen or 2.89% at RM4.37 while Petronas Chemicals fell 10 sen or 1.3% to RM7.60.
Top Glove's share price had earlier dipped to its intraday low of RM4.35 as the company is also seen to be at risk of being removed from the KLCI, according to AllianceDBS Research Sdn Bhd.
In currency markets, the ringgit was traded at 4.1390 against the US dollar at the time of writing today. Over the last one year, the ringgit strengthened to current levels after depreciating to its weakest point at 4.2280.
Source: The Edge
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