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 (April 8): The FBM KLCI closed down 8.53 points or 0.62% at 1,361.39 today with global shares, as news on the higher global death toll at about 80,000 from the Covid-19 pandemic hit sentiment as investors weighed the economic impact from the outbreak.
Across Bursa Malaysia at 5pm, 5.36 billion shares worth RM2.67 billion were traded. There were 617 decliners versus 316 gainers across the exchange.
"Despite several stimulus packages [from our (Malaysian) government] to cushion the impact of Covid-19, traders are advised to deploy the sell into rally strategy for the near term as we believe the KLCI is facing a stiff resistance along 1,370-1,400,” Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd wrote in a note today.
Globally, it was reported that world stocks turned negative on Wednesday as the coronavirus death toll mounted and eurozone finance ministers failed to agree on a rescue package to help economies recover from the impact of the outbreak.
It was reported that Covid-19 hospitalisation seemed to be levelling off in New York State, but deaths across the US jumped by a record of more than 1,800.
"Meanwhile, France has officially registered more than 10,000 deaths from coronavirus infections, making it the fourth country to cross that threshold after Italy, Spain and the US. Mainland China's new coronavirus cases doubled in 24 hours as infected travellers returned home. After two sessions of gains, European equities fell amid renewed concern about the spread of the virus and the continent's response to it,” Reuters reported.
Across Bursa today, top decliners included KLCI stocks PPB Group Bhd, Sime Darby Plantation Bhd and Tenaga Nasional Bhd.
Most active was Ekovest Bhd after some 233 million shares were traded. Ekovest’s share price closed up 1.5 sen or 3.37% at 46 sen.
Source: The Edge
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