Market wrap: US blue-chip stocks fell in volatile trading on Thursday while bond prices jumped after the Federal Reserve decided to hold US interest rates near zero on concerns about global weakness but left the door open for a rate increase later this year. - Reuters
The DJIA ended down 65.21 points, or 0.39%, to 16,674.74, the S&P 500 closed 5.11 points, or 0.26%, lower at 1,990.2 and the Nasdaqfinished down 4.71 points, or 0.1%, to 4,893.95.
Forex summary
*The local currency lost 0.16% to 4.2467 per US$
*It rose 0.50% to 4.8436 per euro
*Down 0.24% to 6.6083 to the pound sterling
*0.28% higher to 3.0318 per Singapore dollar
*0.03% higher to 3.0506 per Aussie
*Up 0.01% at 3.5422 per 100 yen
Energy
Global oil futures fell Thursday, resuming their slide after a brief spike following the Federal Reserve's announcement that it would leave US interest rates unchanged. Brent crude for November delivery fell 67 cents to settle at US$49.08 a barrel. - Reuters
Top foreign stories
Global economy worries prompt Fed to hold rates steady: The US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday in a bow to worries about the global economy, financial market volatility and sluggish inflation at home, but left open the possibility of a modest policy tightening later this year. In what amounted to a tactical retreat, Fed chair Janet Yellen said developments in a tightly linked global economy had in effect forced the US central bank's hand. - Reuters
Fed gets harder to read: The Federal Reserve held interest rates near zero on Thursday, raising questions over how it will ever manage to lift them off the floor and how effectively it will communicate plans to do so. Only just over half economists polled have predicted such an outcome, a rare occurrence, and a sign of just how hard it has become to read the Fed these days. - Reuters
Top local stories
Edra starts work on power plant: Edra Global Energy Bhd, the power generation arm of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) that is up for sale, has invited parties to build a new power plant in Alor Gajah, Malacca. Through an ad in a daily on Thursday, Edra stated it was inviting “prospective applicants to express their interest in participating in a tender exercise for the design, engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of a 1,800 MW to 2,400 MW combined-cycle gas turbine power plant in Malaysia for Edra and/ or its nominee”. - StarBiz
Najib meets captains of industry: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak held a high-profile business dialogue with 30 prominent chief executive officers on Thursday to discuss the current economic situation. The dialogue, among others, was to discuss immediate measures to restore confidence and stabilise the nation’s economy, he said. - Bernama
BToto first-quarter revenue rises 7.7%: Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd
’s (BToto) revenue for the first quarter grew by 7.7% to RM1.34bil, while net profit fell 6.4% to RM72.5mil. The numbers forecast operator declared a first interim single-tier tax-exempt cash dividend of 2.5 sen per share, and a share dividend distribution of about 9.57 million treasury shares. - StarBiz
Glomac earnings up slightly: Glomac Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter inched up to RM21.07mil from RM20.85mil a year earlier on a 15.5% higher revenue The property developer posted a 15.5% of RM123mil. It attributed the higher revenue to contribution from its Puchong Lakeside Residences, Saujana Rawang, Glomac Centro and Reflection Residences projects. Earnings per share for the quarter was at 2.94 sen from 2.87 sen previously, while net assets per share stood at RM1.34. - StarBiz
EcoWorld sales on target: Despite the soft demand in the local property market, Eco World Development Group Bhd (EcoWorld) is confident it can meet its sales target of RM3bil for its current financial year ending October 31. EcoWorld said its immediate plan included the launch of Eco Meadows in Seberang Prai and Bukit Bintang City Centre in Kuala Lumpur, which would lay a solid foundation for its future growth. - StarBiz
Caps on Aabar’s rights: Bank Negara has reiterated an order capping Aabar Investments PJS’ voting rights in RHB Capital Bhd (RHBCap), as well as putting a limit on the number of new shares the Abu Dhabi investor can subscribe to in the bank. Bank Negara, in its letter to the company dated Sept 14, prohibites Aabar from exercising its voting rights in RHBCap to anything above 15%. RHBCap is also prohibited from issuing more than 15% of new shares to Aabar. - StarBiz
UEM Sunrise revises fund-raising scheme: UEM Sunrise Bhd has revised its fund raising scheme given the current weak market condition and its depressed share price. The company on Thursday offered to issue up to 793 million new UEMS-RCPS (redeemable convertible preferred shares) to controlling shareholder UEM Group Bhd at RM1 each. This will replace an earlier plan to issue new ordinary shares to UEM Group. - StrBiz
Firms in three sectors face rating pressure: A prolonged period of soft commodity prices may hurt plantation and agriculture companies’ rating outlook, RAM Ratings said in a its latest report. The ratings agency also warned that property players and vehicle makers are also at risk, if current market condition continued to deteriorate. - StarBiz
Credit Suisse warns of earnings risk for local banks: Credit Suisse expects Malaysia's banking sector to perform worse than during the 2008 global financial crisis, but better than it had in the Asian financial crisis. It attributed this to earnings risk for Malaysian banks following a “confluence of bad news,” including the drop in the ringgit, sell-off in the bond market and decline in oil prices over the past few months, which it said had put more pressure on banks’ revenue and impacted asset quality. - StarBiz
Pavilion REIT to buy USJ mall for RM488mil: Pavilion Real Estate Investment Trust’s manager Pavilion REIT Management Sdn Bhd will acquire the da:men USJ shopping mall from Equine Park Country Resort Sdn Bhd and Revenue Concept Sdn Bhd. The acquisition of the five-storey shopping mall will cost RM488mil. - StarBiz
Khazanah buys 15% stake in Aemulus: Khazanah Nasional Bhd bought a 15% equity stake in ACE Market-listed Aemulus Corp Bhd through its unit Bombalai Hill Ventures Sdn Bhd. The Penang-based semiconductor company said Bombalai Hill Ventures had subscribed to 65.83 million shares from its share placement last Friday. However, the transaction price was not disclosed. - digitaledge
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