Market wrap: US stocks declined broadly on Tuesday as China's devaluation of its yuan currency hit companies with a big exposure to the world's No. 2 economy and added to worries about the global economic outlook. - Reuters
The DJIA rose fell 212.33 points, or 1.21%, to 17,402.84; the S&P 500 index lost 20.11 points, or 0.96%, to 2,084.07 and the Nasdaq dropped 65.01 points, or 1.27%, to 5,036.79.
Forex summary
*The local currency rose 0.94% to 3.9735 per US$
*It fell 1.26% to 4.3705 per euro
*Down 1.95% to 6.2090 to the pound sterling
*0.22% down to 2.8441 per Singapore dollar
*0.69% lower to 2.9199 per Aussie
*Down 0.07% to 3.1774 per 100 yen
Energy
US crude settled at a more than six-year low on Tuesday after China's currency devaluation raised questions about oil demand in the No. 2 consumer and a new OPEC estimate showed non-member producers are likely to keep output high despite low prices. Brent fell US$1.23, or 2.4%, to US$49.18 a barrel, paring more than half of its gains in a rally on Monday. - Reuters
Top foreign news
Symantec to sell Veritas for US$8bil: Norton antivirus software maker Symantec Corp has agreed to sell its data storage unit, Veritas, for US$8 billion to a group led by Carlyle Group LP as it seeks cash to turn around its core security software business. The deal, the biggest US leveraged buyout this year, will give Symantec much-needed funds to compete in the cyber security market with companies such as Microsoft Corp, Intel Corp and Kaspersky Labs. - Reuters
Wells Fargo explores sale of crop insurance business: Wells Fargo & Co may divest its crop insurance business, one of the biggest in the United States, a spokeswoman told Reuters on Tuesday, as regulatory restrictions on US banks force some to reconsider underwriting insurance policies. Wells Fargo has launched an auction for the business that could fetch more than US$1 billion, people familiar with the matter said. - Reuters
BMW looks at whether Google's Alphabet infringes trademark rights: BMW on Tuesday said it was looking into whether Google infringed any trademark rights after the Silicon Valley-based group set up a new company called Alphabet, which is also the name of a BMW subsidiary. BMW's Alphabet, which provides services to companies with vehicle fleets, operates in 18 countries and supplies 530,000 vehicles to corporate customers. - Reuters
Top local stories
Currency war: The ringgit’s slide accelerated towards the RM4 to a US dollar level after China surprised the market by devaluing its currency, sparking concerns that a currency war might be next. The People’s Bank of China devalued the yuan by 2% against the dollar yesterday after announcing over the weekend that exports in July fell by 8.3%. That data was part of an ongoing set of disappointing economic figures from the world’s second-largest economy that has been plagued by concerns of a slowdown. - StarBiz
MMC sells Senai land: Conglomerate MMC Corp Bhd is selling three parcels of land totalling 188.7 acres in Senai Airport City, Johor, to IPark Development Sdn Bhd for RM370mil. Proceeds from the sale will help its unit Senai Airport City Sdn Bhd speed up development in the area and pare down group debt. SACSB, which owns 2,718 acres in Senai, is the master developer of Senai Airport City. - StarBiz
New UMW president and group CEO: UMW Holdings Bhd
has appointed its group chief operating officer Badrul Feisal Abdul Rahim as its new president and group chief executive officer. The appointment, which will take effect from Oct 1, will see Badrul replacing Datuk Syed Hisham Syed Wazir, who will retire on Sept 30. - StarBiz
Sunway REIT Q4 profit up 52% due to retail segment: Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) said its fourth quarter net profit rose 52.16% to RM357.91mil. Profit for the year jumped 32% to RM541.4mil, comprising realised profit of RM242mil and unrealised profit of RM299.4mil mainly arising from fair value gain. - StarBiz
HLB plans RM3bil rights issue: Hong Leong Bank Bhd (HLB) is planning to raise up to RM3bil in rights issues this year to strengthen its capital, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The bank, Malaysia’s fifth largest by assets, was the last of its peers to bolster its capital to meet more stringent central bank requirements under the global Basel III framework, the sources said. - Reuters
AirAsia X passenger traffic down in second quarter: AirAsia X Bhd, the long-haul affiliate of the AirAsia group, reported a drop in passenger traffic in the second quarter ended June 30, but the airline is optimistic of a quick rebound. - StarBiz
Syabas estimates RM4.3b capex over 5 years: Tan Sri Rozali Ismail, the executive chairman of Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas), has estimated that the company would need RM4.3bil over five years to improve water supply services in the Klang Valley. Syabas is responsible for water distribution in the Klang Valley and Selangor.
Govt finalising privatisation of PNMB: The privatisation of Percetakan Nasional Malaysia Bhd (PNMB) is being finalised by the Public-Private Partnership Unit, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. The Deputy Prime Minister said several companies had made offers to take over the national printer, which is an agency under the Home Ministry. - StarBiz
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Bank Islam to boost infrastructure financing: Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd is aiming to increase financing for infrastructure projects as it seeks to boost corporate business contribution from the current 24% to 30% of its revenue. Yesterday, the bank signed a financing agreement for the construction of a 14-MW mini hydroelectric power plant for Kerian Energy Sdn Bhd in Perak. - StarBiz
Mixed reactions to deal: Affin Holdings Bhd’s proposed purchase of a piece of land in Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) has drawn mixed reactions from analysts and industry experts. While some have said that Affin’s purchase of the land at a price of RM255mil, or RM4,699 per sq ft, is high, others view it as justified going by the high plot ratio. - StarBiz
Ge-Shen gets takeover offer: Ge-Shen Corp Bhd has received a takeover offer from Pelita Niagamas Sdn Bhd at 81 sen a share – which is sharply lower than the close on Monday at 94.5 sen. - StarBiz
Benalec’s Leaw brothers rapped and fined: Bursa Malaysia has reprimanded Benalec Holings Bhd’s three Leaw brothers for breaching listing requirements and also fined them a total of RM250,000. - StarBiz
Fresh call for EGM: Kronologi Asia Bhd is calling for a special shareholders meeting on Aug 26 to consider the appointments of four new directors. The EGM was called by the group’s execu- tive chairman and group chief executive officer Piti Pramotedham. - StarBiz
Shell strengthens bottom line in Q2: Shell Refining Co (Federation of Malaya) Bhd posted a net profit of RM322.19mil against a net loss of RM28mil a year earlier. This was almost four times the first quarter’s net profit of RM84.23mil. its revenue fell 24.1% to RM2.97bil due to lower product prices. - StarBiz
Events calendar
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry releases Industrial Production figures for July (1430 GMT).
ndustrial output is released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China (0530 GMT).
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