Energy
Brent Crude was 1.28% lower to US$50.03 per barrel at 2.29pm.
Forex
Ringgit was down 0.23% to 4.2583 at 2.58pm.
Top foreign news
Investor flight from US stocks fails to lift bond market: The "flight to safety" into bonds many expected when US stocks slumped last week never took off, making big losers out of prominent fund managers and further confusing investors at a volatile time in the market. Stocks plunged in the second half of August, largely on fears of China's worsening economy, but US Treasury yields did not see the kind of safety bid that many were expecting and has been typical in times of stock-market stress in the past. - Reuters
Scrapping Indonesia's bullet train leaves top investors confused: Indonesia's 11th-hour decision to scrap plans for the nation's first high-speed railway has sown confusion among top investors China and Japan, potentially undermining the strong foreign investment that has been a rare economic bright spot. - Reuters
Global chip sales fall in July on weak demand, currency woes: Global semiconductor sales fell in July from a year and a month ago which the US-based Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) blamed on softening demand and currency devaluation in some regional markets. SIA said sales fell 0.9% to US$27.9bil. - StarBiz
US job gains seen solid in August, spotlight on Fed: The US economy likely added jobs at a steady pace in August and the unemployment rate probably fell to a near 7-1/2-year low of 5.2%, which could allow a cautious Federal Reserve to consider a September interest rate hike. - Reuters
Top local stories
JCorp Reit to raise RM252.36mil via IPO: Johor Corp's (JCorp) real estate investment trust (Reit), Al-Salam, expects to raise RM252.36mil via its initial public offering (IPO). Al-Salam REIT, which intends to list on the Main Market, is offering 252.36 million units of RM1 each, of which 240.76 million have been allocated for private placement and another 11.6 million will be made available to the Malaysian public. - StarBiz
Cross-border capital raising in Asean made easier: The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Singapore Exchange, together with Malaysia's Securities Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand, have issued a handbook to implement the Streamlined Review Framework for the Asean Common Prospectus. In a joint statement, MAS and SGX said under the framework, Asean issuers planning a multi-jurisdictional offering of equity or plain debt securities can expect a shorter time-to-market, and faster access to capital across the region. - Bernama
July exports better than forecast: Malaysia saw exports in July increase 3.5% from a year earlier as demand for electrical and electronic goods surged, government data showed on Friday. Imports did much better than expected, rising 5.9% from last year due to increases in imports of electronic circuits, petroleum oils and medicament. The trade surplus in July dropped to RM2.38bil (US$559.9mil) from RM7.98bil in June. - StarBiz
Bursa queries Caring Pharmacy: Caring Pharmacy’s recent rise in share price has caught the attention of Bursa Malaysia Securities which queried the pharmacy company on Friday. The regulator had issued Caring an unusual market activity query over the rise in price of the company’s shares recently. - StarBiz
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