22/04/2026

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | APR 22, 2026

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MSCI extends Indonesia stock market review to June

Lynas Rare Earths’ third-quarter revenue jumps more than twofold SYDNEY: Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths reported a more than twofold jump in third-quarter revenue yesterday, helped by stronger prices, while flagging strong market demand as customers seek to reduce reliance on rare earths from China. The world’s largest producer of rare earths outside China posted gross sales revenue of A$265 million (RM749.8 million) for the quarter ended March 31, compared with A$123 million a year earlier. The revenue, Lynas’ highest since the final quarter of fiscal 2022, was underpinned by higher prices and a stronger product mix. The company, the only commercial producer of light and heavy rare earth oxides outside of China, highlighted a “renewed and urgent focus by customers on securing sustainable, outside China supply chains due to ongoing disruptions to previous supply chains”. Lynas said it had seen no material disruption from the Iran war-fuelled energy shock as its diesel usage had declined after the commissioning of its hybrid renewable power station at Mt Weld. It, however, said it expected higher material costs and that the scale and duration were hard to predict. The miner said the average neodymium-praseodymium selling price rose 25% from the prior quarter due to changes in market index pricing and an increasing share of sales at prices independent of the market index. Lynas reported total rare earth oxide production of 3,233 metric tons for the quarter, a jump of more than 69% from a year earlier. Rare earth elements are essential to make batteries, computer chips, defense equipment and other high tech products. – Reuters

Since MSCI’s warning in January, Indonesia has unveiled key stock market reforms, including the release of more detailed shareholder data and the doubling of the minimum “free float” of tradeable shares for listed companies to 15%, a move aimed at increasing liquidity and preventing stock price manipulation. The MSCI announcement comes a week after rival index provider FTSE Russell kept Indonesia’s classification as a secondary emerging market unchanged and said it was not considering the country for inclusion on its watch list. MSCI said it would not incorporate the new disclosures or data sources into its free-float assessments or index calculations until its review is completed and feedback from market participants has been assessed. “This approach is designed to limit index turnover and investability risks while allowing time for further evaluation of the recently announced reforms,” MSCI said. The index provider said it would continue engaging with market participants and Indonesian authorities. – Reuters

o Index provider assessing new disclosures on reforms

MEXICO CITY/SINGAPORE: MSCI said on Monday it will extend its review of Indonesia’s stock market by a month to June to assess reforms announced by the Southeast Asian nation, after a warning in January triggered a market rout and a foreign investor exodus. The global index provider had warned that Indonesia could be downgraded to “frontier” market status from “emerging” as a result of transparency problems. That has led to Jakarta’s stocks tumbling 12% this year, making it the worst-performing major stock market in Asia, and foreigners selling roughly US$2.3 billion (RM9.09 billion) worth of stocks on a net basis. MSCI said it was reviewing the new data sources and regulatory measures announced by Indonesia’s financial authorities, adding it would provide further updates in a June review. But for now MSCI said it would continue to freeze increases to foreign inclusion factors and

the number of shares for Indonesian securities. It will also refrain from adding Indonesian stocks to its investable market indexes or allowing any upward migration across size segments. Mohit Mirpuri, a fund manager at SGMC Capital, said MSCI’s latest statement was largely in line with expectations. “This reinforces MSCI’s measured, wait and-see approach, engaging constructively with the reforms, but needing more time to assess implementation,” said Mirpuri. “For now, the market remains in a holding pattern, with June as the next key catalyst.” Indonesia stock exchange acting CEO Jeffrey Hendrik said yesterday the exchange met with MSCI last week and will continue communication with the index provider. “We will also continue to engage with global investors to gather input on strengthening the capital market in the future,” Hendrik said in a statement.

JPMorgan lifts S&P 500 year-end target to 7,600 on AI-driven earnings NEW YORK: JPMorgan yesterday raised its year end target for the S&P 500 index to 7,600, citing AI and tech-driven earnings, just weeks after lowering its forecast, with a ceasefire between the US and Iran aiding sentiment. “Given the sharp rally from recent lows and a geopolitical backdrop that, while significantly de-escalated, remains in flux, there is a Anthropic unveiled its AI model “Claude Mythos” earlier this month, but halted its release over concerns that it could expose hidden cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

meaningful risk that the market enters a short term consolidation phase before resuming its upward trajectory,” JP Morgan said in a note. However, the brokerage expects the index to hit nearly 8,000 by year-end if there is a quick resolution to the conflict. A strong momentum in AI and tech stocks helped the S&P 500 and Nasdaq touch record highs last week alongside expectations of robust first-quarter earnings. “The emergence of Anthropic’s Mythos has helped reignite the bullish AI trade after a shaky start to the year,” JPMorgan said.

The brokerage said there is still room for further upside in consensus earnings estimates, noting recent positive revisions have been concentrated in a small group of technology firms and the energy sector. “We expect the US to remain a core long term holding in global portfolios due to its breakthrough innovation, overall superior growth, and capital returns, even though the diversification theme and repatriation flows out of the US are likely to persist in the background,” it added. – Reuters

The revised target implies an upside of about 6.9% from Monday’s close of 7,109.14. The Wall Street brokerage had cut its target to 7,200 from 7,500 last month. JPMorgan also hiked its annual earnings-per share forecast for the index to US$330 (RM1,305) from US$315. For 2027, it increased its EPS target to US$385 from US$355. US equities have rebounded from their March lows following a ceasefire in the Middle East war.

China’s Victory Giant jumps 50% in Hong Kong debut HONG KONG/SINGAPORE: Shares of Chinese circuit board maker Victory Giant Technology closed 50.1% higher in their Hong Kong debut yesterday, after raising HK$20.1 billion (RM10.1 billion) in a share sale in the city’s biggest listing in about seven months. million from 83.35 million. The retail offering was 431.15 times subscribed, while the international offering was 18.5 times covered, according to a filing yesterday. The strong debut adds to signs that investor appetite for large Hong Kong listings, particularly in AI-linked

Victory Giant Technology chairman Chen Tao and his wife non executive director Liu Chunlan prepare to bang the gong to launch their company’s IPO at the Hong Kong Exchanges and

sectors, has remained resilient despite broader market volatility in the wake of the US-Israeli war on Iran. Winston Ma, executive director of the Global Public Investment Funds Forum and a former managing director at the China Investment Corporation, said pricing the deal at the top end and exercising the upsize option despite market volatility pointed to deep demand in Hong Kong’s IPO market for advanced Chinese manufacturing firms. Victory Giant’s offering is the largest new listing globally since Czechoslovak Group’s Amsterdam debut in January after a €3.8 billion (RM17.7 billion) IPO. It was also Hong Kong’s biggest IPO since Zijin Gold International’s US$3.2 billion (RM12.6 billion) deal in September, according to Dealogic. – Reuters

Shares of the company, based in China’s southern Guangdong province, opened 57.2% higher at HK$330 versus an offer price of HK$209.88 each. The firm makes printed circuit boards for artificial intelligence servers and other electronics. The company’s shares earlier climbed as much as 60.2% to HK$336.2 and closed at HK$315 with 33.8 million shares worth HK$10.8 billion changing hands. It was the most actively traded stock in terms of turnover on the Hong Kong bourse yesterday, followed by Tencent and Alibaba. The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed 0.5% higher. Victory Giant’s Shenzhen-listed stock ended the day 3.5% lower at 330.9 yuan. Victory Giant exercised its offer size adjustment option in full, increasing the number of shares sold to 95.85

Clearing Limited yesterday. – AFPPIC