Market wrap: Wall Street ended a little lower on Thursday as falling healthcare stocks offset gains in Intel and other technology names while investors eyed an expected rate hike in December. - Reuters
The DJIA closed 0.02% weaker at 17,732.75 points, the S&P 500 lost 0.11% to 2,081.24 and the Nasdaq edged 0.03% lower to 5,073.64.
Forex summary
*The ringgit gained 0.84% to 4.3060 per US$
*It rose 0.51% to 4.6178 per euro
*Up 0.75% to 6.5822 to the pound sterling
*0.20% higher to 3.0604 per Singapore dollar
*0.64% higher to 3.0965 per Aussie
*Up 0.80% to 3.5062 per 100 yen
Energy
Brent oil futures settled steady on Thursday while US crude fell ahead of the expiry of the front-month contract and continued pressure from large inventory builds. A weaker dollar and stronger refining margins for gasoline, which could prompt refiners to turn more crude into the motor fuel, helped limit the downside in crude. Brent futures LCOc1 settled up 4 cents at US$44.18 a barrel, after hitting a low of US$43.70 earlier in the session. - Reuters
Top foreign stories
Dorsey's Square jumps in market debut, offering hope to tech startups: Shares in Square Inc, the mobile payments company co-founded and still run by Twitter Inc chief executive Jack Dorsey, soared as much as 64% in their market debut, following a marked-down initial public offering, countering the negative sentiment that has nagged at Silicon Valley startups in recent weeks. - Reuters
Pfizer negotiating 2-3% Allergan break-up fee: Pfizer Inc is negotiating a 2-3% break-up fee with Allergan Plc that would be in line with most deals, people familiar with the matter said, a sign of confidence that such a merger could overcome regulatory hurdles. The break-up fee, to be paid by Pfizer if it were to walk away from Allergan, would come out to US$3 billion to US$4.5 billion based on a US$150 billion deal value. - Reuters
Wage pressures coming? US companies start to sound the alarm: Early indications of wage pressures in pockets of corporate America have begun emerging in recent weeks, suggesting labor costs could be a bigger headwind for US companies in 2016. Over the course of the latest corporate earnings reporting season, executives from nearly 20 S&P 500 companies have flagged labour costs, shortages or wage pressure as headwinds. - Reuters
Germany's economic upswing likely to continue: Germany's moderate economic upswing is likely to continue despite rising risks linked to a cooling in emerging markets as robust private consumption remains the key growth driver of Europe's largest economy, the Finance Ministry said on Friday. In its November monthly report, the ministry said record employment, rising wages, low interest rates and cheaper energy prices were boosting Germans' purchasing power, adding that the mood among company managers had recently improved. - Reuters
US probes Bosch in VW cheating scandal: US authorities are investigating German auto supplier Robert Bosch GmbH over its role in Volkswagen AG's massive scheme to cheat US emission standards, according to people familiar with the matter. Federal prosecutors with the US Department of Justice are examining whether Bosch, the world's largest auto supplier, knew or participated in Volkswagen's years-long efforts to circumvent US.diesel emissions tests, the people said. - Reuters
Top local stories
Lion Diversified defaults on loans: A company under Malaysia’s largest steel group – Lion Diversified Holdings Bhd – has defaulted on loans totalling RM35.75mil by three wholly-owned subsidiaries, triggering a cross default of other facilities amounting to RM116.9mil. This is the second major default by the Lion Group. In September Megasteel, which is 21% owned by Lion Diversified, announced a default of its facilities. - StarBiz
FGV to finalise Eagle High deal soon: Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV), which has yet to place any deposit for its proposed acquisition of Indonesia-based PT Eagle High Plantations Tbk, gave indicated the deal may be finalised by the end of this year. It expects to complete the due diligence by the end of the month. - StarBiz
TCM gets exclusive rights to distribute Nissan vehicles in Myanmar: Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd
’s (TCM) Myanmar operations has been given the sole and exclusive rights to distribute and sell Nissan vehicles that it manufactures or assembles. It said its unit Tan Chong Motor (Myanmar) Co Ltd has also been given exclusive rights by Nissan Motor Co Ltd to provide after-sales service for the vehicles in the country. - StarBiz
AMMB net profit at RM382m: AMMB Holdings Bhd, which will have a new managing director soon, posted a net profit of RM382.52mil in the second quarter on the back of RM2.088bil revenue. While it was a slight dip compared with the RM445.82mil reported in the corresponding quarter a year ago, the group had made a series of writebacks from its original loan loss impairments. - StarBiz
Boustead Plantations Q3 net profit rises: Boustead Plantations Bhd says its third-quarter profit after tax rose by 32% to RM22.5mil compared with a year ago while pre-tax profit was also up by 33% to RM27.6mil. It attributed the improved profit to gains from the disposal of land amounting to RM57.2mil. Revenue grew to RM166.6mil for the quarter. - StarBiz
Mah Sing to launch RM1.2bil projects in Penang: Mah Sing Group Bhd will launch RM1.235bil worth of projects on the island in 2016. Mah Sing (North) senior general manager Law Wei Keong said the projects comprised the RM735mil Ferringhi Residence 2, the RM350mil Icon Residence, and an unnamed RM150mil project in Southbay City, Batu Maung. - StarBiz
Sukuk market to pick up: Franklin Templeton GSC Asset Management Bhd is expecting the sukuk market to pick up from this quarter onwards after sales for Islamic bonds slumped in the third quarter of this year. Head of Malaysia fixed income and sukuk Hanifah Hashim said the infrastructure projects in the pipeline would revive the Islamic bond market going forward. - StarBiz
Consumer discretionary sector feels the heat: The consumer discretionary sector, or businesses that sell non-essential goods and services, are feeling the heat as the rising cost of living in the country has resulted in many Malaysians tightening their belts this year. The effect is apparent in their financial performance — companies such as Amway (Malaysia) Holdings Bhd, DeGem Bhd, Poh Kong Holdings Bhd, Tomei Consolidated Bhd, Asia Brands Bhd and Voir Holdings Bhd have all reported significant falls in profitability in their latest available financial quarter results. - Edge FD
REDtone’s planned dividend payout turned down: ACE Market-listed REDtone International Bhd’s shareholders viewed a proposed 0.2 sen dividend for the group’s financial year ended May 31, 2015 as too low and voted down the proposed RM1.4 million payout at the group’s AGM on Thursday. - Edge FD
MRCB Q3 net profit falls 79.4% on lower revenue: Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) reported a 79.4% drop in its third quarter net profit to RM5.64 million on higher finance costs and income tax expense. Its revenue fell 24.8% to RM374.06 million. - Edge FD
Marriott to manage YTL’s hotels in Koh Samui and Hokkaido: YTL Corp Bhd has awarded the contract to manage its two new upscale hotels in Koh Samui, Thailand and Niseko Village, Hokkaido, Japan to global hotel company Marriott International Inc. Both hotels will be operated under The Ritz-Carlton brand. - Edge FD
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