KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 4): Proxy stocks to artificial intelligence (AI) on Bursa Malaysia rebounded on Tuesday amid improved sentiment following news of potential talks between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Market sentiment on Bursa Malaysia was dented last week amid concern over the prospects of companies along the AI value chain, including construction companies and property developers who have jumped onto the data centre bandwagon.  

Sunway Construction Group Bhd (KL:SUNCON), which holds the largest number of data centre-related contracts in its order book, surged as much as 7% to RM3.75. The counter closed 5.14% higher at RM3.68, giving it a market capitalisation of RM4.51 billion.

Gamuda Bhd (KL:GAMUDA) climbed 3.14% to an intraday high of RM4.27 but pared gains to close at RM4.18 — still up 0.97% — valuing the group at RM23.59 billion.

Meanwhile, IJM Corporation Bhd (KL:IJM) rose as much as 2.92% to RM2.47. At market close, the counter settled 1.67% higher at RM2.44, translating into a market valuation of RM8.41 billion.

However, the selling pressure on YTL Power International Bhd (KL:YTLPOWR) persisted. The stock ended the trading day lower at RM3.04, down one sen, although it hit an intra-day high of RM3.08. Its parent YTL Corp Bhd (KL:YTL) was flat at RM1.88 after it touched an intra-day high of RM1.92.

NationGate Holdings Bhd (KL:NATGATE), one of the few assemblers of Nvidia Corp’s graphic processing units in Southeast Asia, climbed 4.52% to close at RM1.85. Some 28.31 million NationGate shares changed hands, surpassing its 200-day average.

Telekom Malaysia Bhd (KL:TM) and TIME dotCom Bhd (KL:TIMECOM), both of which have data centre business, have gained 1.22% and 1.52% respectively.

The upside for AI proxy stocks remains limited for now amid uncertainty over whether tariff negotiations between Trump and Xi will take place, Malacca Securities head of research Loui Low told The Edge.

“We shall see whether the pauses on Mexico and Canada can also apply to China, but I doubt so. Hence, with this uncertainty, the market will be assigned lower PE (price-earnings) multiples,” he said.

According to news reports, Trump said his administration plans to speak with China, after he delayed levies on Canada and Mexico. The talks with China would take place “probably over the next 24 hours”, Trump was quoted as saying.

In response to Trump’s 10% tariff on Chinese imports that had gone into effect, China swiftly announced a package of counter-tariffs on various US goods. This includes a 15% levy on coal and liquefied natural gas, and a 10% duty on crude oil, farm equipment, and certain automobiles, set to take effect on Feb 10.

Sentiment is expected to remain cautious given the uncertainties over the horizon.