Market wrap: US stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday, breaking a five-day losing streak as attention shifted from trouble in Chinese equities to US corporate earnings and to speculation the first Federal Reserve interest rate hike may not come until December. - Reuters
The DJIA rose 1.09%, to end the session at 17,630.27. The S&P 500 gained 1.24% to 2,093.25 and the Nasdaq added 0.98% to finish at 5,089.21.
Forex summary
*The local currency rose 0.26% to 3.8050 per US$
*It increased 0.25% to 4.2215 per euro
*Down 0.23% to 5.9438 to the pound sterling
*0.01% down to 2.7921 per Singapore dollar
*0.19% lower to 2.7891 per Aussie
*Up 0.02% to 3.0871 per 100 yen
Energy
Oil prices steadied on Tuesday, with Brent recovering from near six-month lows and US crude settling more than 1% higher as bets for a drop in US stockpiles offset concern over a global oil supply glut and China's stock market meltdown. Brent futures settled down 17 cents, or 0.3%, at US$53.30 a barrel. - Reuters
Top foreign news
Global investors worry more about yuan: While local Chinese fret over the bursting of the Shanghai stock bubble, global investors are more worried about the yuan currency which once seemed destined to rise inexorably. A decade after China released the yuan from its peg to the dollar, ever more international money managers no longer regard the currency as a one-way appreciation bet that will augment their returns on stocks and bonds in dollar terms. - Reuters
US consumer mood darkens, home price growth stalls: US consumer confidence suffered its biggest blow in four years in July on a less upbeat jobs outlook, while home appreciation in major cities stalled in May, suggesting a spring pause in housing demand. The disappointing data come as Federal Reserve policymakers meet to consider whether the US economy is strong enough to warrant an end to the Fed's near zero interest rate policy, perhaps as soon as September. - Reuters
New P&G chief executive: Procter & Gamble Co veteran David Taylor will replace A.G. Lafley as chief executive in a widely expected move that coincides with a massive overhaul at the world's largest household products maker. Taylor's appointment is effective Nov. 1, and on the same day Lafley will become executive chairman of the board, P&G said. - Reuters
Twitter beats estimates: Twitter Inc's quarterly earnings and revenue blew past expectations, but its monthly average user number grew at its slowest pace since it went public in 2013. Twitter said revenue rose 61% to US$502.4mil. Excluding the impact of a strong dollar, revenue rose 68%. The company's net loss narrowed to US$136.7mil in the second quarter from US$144.6mil a year earlier. - Reuters
Top local stories
Sentiments remain: The local stock market closed 10.06 points lower amidst external developments as well as domestic changes to the Malaysian Cabinet that saw several ministers, A technical analyst said sentiments continued to be negative, with foreigners exiting and government-linked funds supporting the market. - StarBiz
BAT posts lower earnings: British American Tobacco (M) Bhd
’s (BAT) net profit for the second quarter came in lower at RM215.3mil against RM248.1mil a year ago, mainly due to the absorption of the newly introduced goods and services tax for the group to remain competitive. Revenue for the quarter also slid to RM1.08bil compared with RM1.22bil in 2014. - StarBiz
Fajarbaru plans RM728mil projects: Small-cap contractor Fajarbaru Builder Group Bhd has property projects with a gross development value (GDV) of RM728mil in Malaysia. Besides that, its first overseas joint-venture project in Melbourne, which has a GDV of A$77mil (RM215.6mil), has seen a take-up rate of 80%. And the company plans to launch three projects in the Klang Valley and Malacca by the end of 2016. - StarBiz
Astino to invest RM100mil in new facility: Astino Bhd plans to invest over RM100mil in a new multi-system agro-house production facility in Nibong Tebal by the end of the year. Group managing director Ng Back Teng said the group had identified a 10-acre project site in Nibong Tebal where the group already has an existing agro-house production facility. - StarBiz
Court allows Scan’s claim against former CEO: The KL High Court has allowed Scan Associates Bhd’s claim of RM1.7mil against its former chief executive officer Datuk Aminuddin Baki Esa. The ICT security solutions provider told Bursa Malaysia that the court also threw out the latter’s counterclaim with costs of RM170,000 to Scan. - StarBiz
Jiankun in RM147mil joint-venture project: Jiankun International Bhd has entered into a joint-venture agreement with Fivestar Development (Puchong) Sdn Bhd to develop a serviced apartment on freehold land owned by the latter worth RM147.2mil gross development value. - StarBiz
Perstima optimistic: Despite a challenging operating environment, tin-plate manufacturer Perusahaan Sadur Timah Bhd (Perstima) expects to see sustained performance for its financial year ending March 31, 2016, through effective cost management and aggressively winning back market share for its products. - StarBiz
AAX ready to team up if price is right, says CEO: AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) is ready to team up with potential investors but only if the price is right, its acting chief executive officer Benyamin Ismail said.
Several carriers, businesses and partners had shown interest in investing in AAX over the last few years, but the company never found the right partner, he said. - StarBiz
MPay upbeat on its new payment solution: Managepay Systems Bhd (MPay) is looking to capture 10% to 15% of the 1.2 million card acceptance devices to be installed over the next five years, with its new Chip & Pin technology solution, making it the first MyClear certified contact and contactless chip & pin card host and terminal solution to be launched in Malaysia. - StarBiz
MAHB: KLIA2 works ongoing: Maintenance works at the KL International Airport 2 (KLIA2) is on-going, according to Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), but is expected to "taper off’ to a minimum level over the next five years. The airport operator said the work plan for a differential settlement was staggered to minimise the disruption to KLIA2’s operations and was currently progressing according to schedule. - StarBiz
RHB Investment props up Sunway Construction: RHB Investment Bhd mopped up 4.14 million shares in Sunway Construction Group Bhd from the open market to help keep the newly-listed stock afloat on its maiden day on Bursa Malaysia. Shares in Sunway Construction was last traded at RM1.20 yesterday with 158 million shares done. - StarBiz
KL fringe area to face office space glut: The fringe area of Kuala Lumpur is expected to face an office space glut by 2017, said JLL Malaysia country head Y.Y. Lau. She said office rents are projected to decline on the back of a weakened economy and supply concerns over the next few years. - StarBiz
Lower vehicle sales seen this year: The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) has revised downwards its total industry volume (TIV) for this year to 670,000 from 680,000 units earlier, owing to declining vehicle sales in the first half of this year. Sales in the first half fell 3.3% to 322,184. - StarBiz
MMHE Q2 profit halved: Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd’s (MMHE) net profit for the second quarter was halved to RM18mil compared with a year earlier, mainly due to a lower contribution from its offshore construction and conversion business. The company said its net profit dropped 54.6% on 40.7% lower revenue of RM582mil. - StarBiz
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