Logo of the Nissan Motor Co. is screened before visitors at the 44th Tokyo Motor Show in Tokyo, Japan, November 2, 2015. REUTERS/Issei Kato/Files
MarketWrap: U.S. stocks ticked up on Wednesday, just enough for the S&P 500 and Dow industrials to set record highs, with investors expecting upbeat earnings to keep the rally going. - Reuters
The DJIA rose 24.45 points, or 0.13%, to 18,372.12, the S&P 500 ticked up 0.29 points, or 0.01%, to 2,152.43 and the Nasdaq fell 17.09 points, or 0.34%, to 5,005.73.
Forex summary
*The ringgit lost 0.04% to 3.9672 per US$
*It was 0.43% lower at 4.4032 per euro
*Up 1.02% to 5.2055 to the pound sterling
*Down 0.07% to 2.9442 per Singapore dollar
*0.04% higher to 3.0148 per Aussie
*Down 0.37% to 3.8096 per 100 yen
Energy
Crude prices rose on Thursday in early Asian trading after big losses in the previous session spurred by mounting concerns that the global glut in oil is not going away soon after the latest bearish data out of the United States. Brent crude was up 37 cents at US$46.63 a barrel at 0032 GMT.
Top foreign stories
Study: UBS retains positions as world's biggest private bank: UBS kept its ranking as the world's biggest private bank last year, a study by wealth management researcher Scorpio Partnership showed on Thursday. With US$1,737.5 billion of assets under management, UBS retained its highly-prized first place in 2015, staying nearly US$300 billion ahead Bank of America Merrill Lynch which replaced Morgan Stanley in second place. - Reuters
Fed: US economy shows few signs of sustained inflation pressure: The US economy continued to expand from mid-May through the end of June but there was little indication that inflation would surge any time soon, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday. Wage pressures were "modest to moderate" in most of the central bank's districts and price pressures remained slight, the Fed said in its Beige Book report. - Reuters
China's Wanda shows interest in Viacom's Paramount: Chinese real estate and entertainment conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group has held talks with Viacom Inc about acquiring a minority stake in its Paramount Pictures unit, according to two people familiar with the situation. - Reuters
Top local stories
Earnings under pressure: Already facing poor earnings prospects in the current challenging economic environment, banks in Malaysia will likely be squeezed further by Bank Negara’s unexpected move to cut the overnight policy rate to 3% - the first rate cut since 2009. Analysts expect banks to see further margin compression resulting from the lower benchmark interest rate. - StarBiz
Fernandes signs 2 deals worth RM61bil in 2 days: Two days in London and AirAsia Bhd boss Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has signed two deals worth RM61bil for aircraft and engine purchases. This is a major development for the airline betting on burgeoning demand for travel in Asia to fuel its growth over the decade. - StarBiz
Property stocks rally on interest rate cut: Bank Negara’s surprise 25-basis-point cut in the overnight policy rate pushed up the share prices of property players on Bursa Malaysia, although analysts remain downbeat on the sector’s fundamentals. - StarBiz
Moody’s assigns A3 rating to Petronas lNG: Moody’s Investors Service has assigned an A3 foreign currency issuer rating to Petronas LNG Ltd (PLL). The rating agency also affirmed PLL’s A3 local currency issuer rating. The outlook on all ratings is stable. - StarBiz
AirAsia boss: Airport tax hike regressive: AirAsia Bhd group chief executive Tan Sri Tony Fernandes contends that raising the airport tax for passengers using KLIA2 is a regressive step. He said the proposal to raise passenger service charges was not justifiable and would only hamper the economic growth and job creation in the country. - StarBiz
Puncak Niaga sells one of its China businesses: Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd
is selling one of its China businesses to limit losses from that investment with the intention of exiting all its businesses in the country. Puncak Niaga is selling a 93.81% equity interest in Luwei (Pingdingshan) Water Co Ltd to a state-owned enterprise. - StarBiz
Business as usual for TH Heavy: Despite being served with winding-up petitions, TH Heavy Engineering Bhd is working closely with relevant stakeholders in ensuring the completion and delivery of the floating production, storage and offloading Layang project, said the company. - StarBiz
Berjaya Assets, FCBC sign MoU on JB trade city project: Berjaya Assets Bhd, via subsidiary Berjaya Waterfront Sdn Bhd, has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Foshan City Bureau of Commerce (FCBC) to foster trade and investment from Foshan City to the South East Asia Duty Free Trade City project at Berjaya Waterfront in Johor Baru. - StarBiz
Investors cool to Genting’s foray into UK gaming: Genting Malaysia Bhd, among the Asian companies most exposed to the UK, is finding some investors aren’t prepared to take a chance on its foray into the country’s gaming market after the surprise vote to leave the European Union.
Shares in Genting Malaysia have slumped about 3.6% since the June 23 Brexit referendum. - StarBiz
Protasco stake in unit reduced: Protasco Bhd’s stake in its wholly-owned subsidiary, Infrastructure Asset Management Sdn Bhd (IIAM), has been reduced to 30% following the allotment of additional shares in the subsidiary. Protasco also said IIAM has taken a new name, Ikram Engineering Consulting Sdn Bhd. - StarBiz
ETCM looks to gain Nissan’s market share on new launches: Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd (ETCM), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd and the distributor of Nissan cars, is eyeing to increase Nissan’s market share in the non-national car segment to 8% this year, up from 7.1% in 2015, as it launches new products. - Edge FD
SC grants waiver to Sunway REIT for Penang land buy: The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has granted a waiver to Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust hat will allow the company to acquire land to construct an extension of the Sunway Carnival Mall in Seberang Prai, Penang. - Edge FD
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