Hyundai Motor Co's electric-car platform would allow the automaker to install a battery pack in vehicle floors to accommodate more battery capacity. — Reuters
Energy
Brent crude was 0.44% lower to US$51.87 per barrel at 3.33pm.
Forex
Ringgit was up 0.42% to 4.3533 versus the US dollar at 3.43pm.
Top foreign stories
Credit Suisse to raise US$4b in rights issue, ditches Swiss unit IPO: Credit Suisse will raise around 4 billion Swiss francs (US$4 billion) through a rights issue to catch up to European rivals on capital, ditching plans to float a minority stake in its Swiss banking unit. — Reuters
Hyundai Motor Q1 profit slides as China political row, US recall drag: South Korea’s Hyundai Motor posted a 21% fall in quarterly net profit to , dragged down by a US recall and sales declines in China stemming from political tensions. The world’s fifth-biggest automaker together with affiliate Kia Motors reported a first-quarter net profit of 1.33 trillion won (US$1.18 billion). Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S had on average expected a 1.25 trillion won net profit. — Reuters
Strong Singapore March factory output points to Q1 GDP revision: Singapore’s industrial production rose by a faster-than-expected 10.2% in March from a year earlier, exceeding the median forecast in a Reuters survey of a 7.1% expansion on-year. thanks to a continued surge in the electronics sector, data showed. It points to a possible upward revision in the city-state’s first quarter gross domestic product. — Reuters
Frexit makes way for Quitaly atop bond investor worry list: Even before the final outcome of France’s presidential race, investors are shifting focus to potentially bigger risks emanating from the eurozone’s third biggest economy, Italy. — Reuters
China banks miss out on US investment banking bonanza: As scores of investment bankers profit from the fee bonanza offered by Chinese companies hunting for deals in the United States, one group is conspicuously absent - Chinese banks. Despite their deep ties with Chinese firms, the country’s largest state-owned banks are missing out on the hundreds of millions of dollars that Wall Street banks and their European rivals earn advising Chinese companies on acquisitions and share and debt sales. — Reuters
Trump tax plan will sharply slash corporate tax rates: US President Donald Trump is proposing to slash the income tax rate paid by public corporations to 15% from 35%, and allowing multinationals to bring in overseas profits at a tax rate of 10% versus 35% now, officials said. Trump will also call for a sharp cut in the top rate on pass-through businesses, including many small business partnerships and sole proprietorships, to 15% from 39.6%, an administration official said. — Reuters
Top local stories
Bursa Malaysia Q1 earnings up 13% to RM57m: Bursa Malaysia Bhd’s net profit rose 13.4% to RM56.62mil in the first quarter compared with RM49.93mil a year earlier. Bursa said it registered a revenue of RM142.68mil against RM133.93mil previously. Its earnings per share rose to 10.60 sen from 9.30 sen a year ago. — StarBiz
Moody’s sees less volatile ringgit: The ringgit will be less volatile this year compared to last year as concerns over the current account levels lessen. Moody’s Investors Service vice president/senior credit officer Christian de Guzman said the improving external outlook will help Malaysias exports and bolster the current account. The volatility impacting the ringgit in recent quarters was due to the capital outflows overwhelming the current account, h said. — StarBiz
RHB Bank not in merger talks with AMMB: RHB Bank Bhd is not in any potential merger talks with mid-sized lender, AMMB Holdings Bhd, said group managing director Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli. “There is no talk about merging with any bank,” he said after the company’s AGM.- Bernama
Moody’s: Stable outlook for Malaysian banks: Malaysia’s banking system is stable over the next 12 to 18 months, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Moody’s vice-president and senior analyst Simon Chen says the key drivers of its view are expectation that operating conditions will stabilise, on the back of a gradual recovery in global growth, resulting in more stability in the banks’ asset quality and profitability. — StarBiz
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