KUALA LUMPUR: Stocks to watch on Wednesday include Axiata Group Bhd, Ta Win Holdings Bhd, S P Setia Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd and Leong Hup International Bhd, according to JF Apex Research.

       edotco Group Sdn Bhd, a unit of Axiata, is in exclusive talks to buy telecommunications infrastructure provider Touch Matrix Sdn Bhd, based on a news report.

       Ta Win has started construction of Malaysia’s first local privately-owned electron beam irradiation plant.

       The Malaysian Nuclear Agency director general Dr. Siti A'iasah Hashim said the new irradiation facility will be able to support and cater to the electric vehicle industry's need for efficient and quality cabling.

       JF Apex noted that SP Setia, KLK, TSH Resources, Oriental Holdings, Boustead Plantations chalked up better year-on-year quarterly earnings while Leong Hup, Tan Chong, LBS, Takaful recorded weaker year-on-year quarterly results.

       Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite fell for the second consecutive day as higher interest rates appeared to put pressure on tech stocks, but shares of banks and industrial moved higher as treasury yields have jumped following President Joe Biden’s decision to select Fed Chair Jerome Powell for a second term on Monday.

       European stocks pulled back on Tuesday as market players monitored a Covid-19 surge, the prospect of U.S. rate hikes and the latest purchasing manager’s index (PMI) data for the euro zone.

       JF Apex said the FBM KLCI could remain sideways in the short term on the absence of fresh leads with its support level of 1,515 points.