KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed almost flat on Tuesday as buying interest rotated away from index heavyweights towards smaller-cap construction stocks, with sentiment affected by geopolitical uncertainty, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.39 of a point to 1,714.40 from Monday’s close of 1,714.79. The benchmark index opened 1.65 points lower at 1,713.14 and moved between 1,710.44 and 1,714.50 throughout the trading session. The broader market was almost evenly balanced, with decliners leading gainers 548 to 546, while 598 counters were unchanged, 1,107 were untraded and 25 were suspended. Turnover expanded to 4.13 billion units valued at RM3.14 billion from 3.60 billion units valued at RM2.45 billion on Monday.
Retain outperform recommendation with target price (TP) of RM1.08 The Group announced overnight that it has entered into a sales and purchase agreement with Reuters International Holding S.A.R.L. and Systex Capital Group Inc. for the acquisition of the entire equity interest in AFE Solutions Limited (AFE) for an initial purchase consideration of USD20.6m (RM85.3m), to be paid in sh. We are positive on the acquisition, and see the transaction as a value accretive and synergistic one, enabling the Group to fast track its regional expansion plans. We make no changes to our earnings estimates at this juncture until more milestones with regard to the conditions precedent are met (completion expected 1Q2017), though we would like to highlight a potential 30%-40% jump in forward earnings based on an average RM6.5m consolidation of AFE’s numbers. Our Outperform call is reaffirmed with a PE derived target price of RM1.08 premised on a 30x multiple to FY...