Breakfast briefing: Tuesday, May 30 (Update)

MarketWrap: Asian equity futures signalled a mixed start to Tuesday while the euro slipped after Mario Draghi’s dovish message to the European Parliament and investors assessed the path for higher US borrowing costs. Hong Kong is on holiday on Tuesday and markets in China are shut for a second day after the UK and US were closed Monday, depressing volumes and limiting price movements. - Bloomberg

Energy

Oil prices rose slightly on Monday, barely paring last week's steep losses with the market remaining cautious as increases in US drilling activity have undercut an Opec-led push to tighten supply. Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled up 14 cents, or 0.2%, at US$52.29 per barrel. Brent fell nearly 3% the previous week .- Reuters

Forex summary

*The ringgit lost 0.26% to 4.2832 versus the US$

*It gained 0.34% to 4.7654 versus euro

*Up 0.04% to 5.4878 per pound sterling

*Down 0.02% to 3.0881 per Singapore dollar

*Down 0.11% to 3.1800 per Aussie

*Down 0.65% to 3.8647 per 100 yen

Top foreign stories

US companies no longer know rules of game under Trump, Hasbro director says: Confusion surrounding the trade policies of US President Donald Trump's administration means US companies no longer know the rules of the game, Alan G. Hassenfeld, a board member and former CEO of toymaker Hasbro told an international conference on Monday. - Reuters

Draghi says ECB stimulus still needed despite better growth: Eurozone growth may be improving but inflation remains subdued and still requires substantial stimulus, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said on Monday, tempering expectations for the bank's June 8 policy meeting. - Reuters

Western Digital may join Japan-KKR group for Toshiba chip unit bid: Western Digital Corp may join a consortium of Japanese government money and KKR & Co LP to bid for Toshiba Corp's chip unit, backing away from an earlier demand for an immediate majority stake, two sources familiar with the matter said. - Reuters

Warren Buffett takes 3% stake in Germany's Lanxess: Lanxess disclosed on Monday that Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate run by billionaire Warren Buffett, had acquired a 3% stake in the German chemicals maker. Lanxess said Berkshire Hathaway's General Reinsurance subsidiary took a stake that reached just over 3% on May 19. - Reuters

Top local stories

Forex lift for Genting: Genting Bhd registered a set of strong numbers in the first quarter, thanks to its operations from outside Malaysia that helped the group to enjoy significant gains from the weak ringgit. The gaming firm also enjoyed a lift in its earnings from the disposal of a stake in an associate company in Singapore. During the quarter ended March 31, 2017, Genting registered a 360% rise in net profit to RM603.06mil on a revenue of RM4.77bil versus RM4.7bil a year earlier. - StarBiz

Petronas okays Hibiscus’ purchase of Shell stake in Sabah venture: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has given the go-ahead for partner Royal Dutch Shell to sell its (Shell’s) 50% stake in their joint-venture North Sabah enhanced oil recovery project to Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd. However, the approval is subject to certain conditions. - StarBiz

Sunway posts RM108m profit: Sunway Bhd posted a 5.69% rise in net profit to RM107.91mil for the first quarter due to  contribution from all business segments except property development. Revenue was 2.08% higher at RM1.09bil with the construction business posting a marginal drop in profit before tax to RM36.9mil although revenue was up slightly at RM316.8mil compared to RM311.4mil previously. - StarBiz

Tiong Nam profit higher on improved revenue: Tiong Nam Logistics Holdings Bhd reported a net profit of RM38.4mil for its fourth quarter, up 31.5%, on improved revenue across its segments. Revenue stood at RM163.9mil against RM126.1mil a year earlier earlier. The company proposed a final single-tier dividend of 2 sen per share and a share dividend distribution of 8.59 million treasury shares on the basis of 1 treasury share for every 50 shares held.  Based on the treasury shares book cost, the share dividend is equivalent to 2.84 sen per share. - StarBiz

MRCB net profit more than doubles: Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) posted a net profit of RM10.5mil for its first quarter, up from RM4.38mil a year ago. Its revenue 20% increased in revenue to RM524.85mil. MRCB attributed the better performance of the group’s topline and bottomline to property sales in KL Sentral and Melbourne, Australia. - StarBiz

Light at the end of tunnel for Reliance Pacific?: Reliance Pacific Bhd, which recorded two years of quarterly losses, could be seeing light at the end of a tunnel following the emergence of two new substantial shareholders and some changes in key management. The company chalked up a small profit before tax (of RM557,000 in the fourth quarter on 12% lower revenue of RM42.28mil. The lower revenue was mainly due to the 20% drop in the tourism division’s revenue following a slowdown in tourist arrivals to Hong Kong and Singapore. - StarBiz

Boustead posts big jump in profit to RM41m: Boustead Holdings Bhd recorded RM40.9mil in profit after tax for the first quarter, a substantial jump from RM9.5mil a year earlier, mainly supported by its plantation business. Its revenue increased to RM2.37bil from RM1.86bil previously. Boustead declared a first interim dividend of 2.5 sen per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2017. - StarBiz

Voir considers expansion into construction, logistics: Fashion apparel firm Voir Holdings Bhd is mulling over a plan to expand into construction and logistics to diversify its income base. Chairman Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli said a final decision on the rationalisation plan will be made within this year. He said the company was also likely introduce a dividend policy. - StarBiz

MMC Corp quarterly net profit up 7% to RM55.1m: MMC Corp Bhd saw its net profit increase 7% for the first quarter to RM55.1mil despite revenue dipping marginally by 1.1% to RM925.2mil. The group said the lower revenue was mainly due to the substantial completion of the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line in 2016, coupled with lower throughput volume at Port of Tanjung Pelepas. - StarBiz

HLB Q3 profit 14% higher: Hong Leong Bank Bhd (HLB) posted a 14% jump in net profit to RM569.5mil for the third quarter versus a year ago on the back of higher net income. The banking arm of Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd said revenue rose 12% to RM1.12bil. - StarBiz

Weak consumer sentiment hits Media Prima, Media Chinese: The weak consumer sentiment has hit the earnings of Media Prima Bhd and Media Chinese International Ltd (MCIL). Media Prima reported it swung to a loss of RM38.46mil in the first quarter, from earnings of RM17.25mil a year earlier. Its revenue fell 10.5% to RM272.2mil.MCIL, the country’s largest Chinese language newspaper and magazine publisher, reported earnings of RM3.66mil in the January-March 2017 quarter, down from RM12.18mil a year earlier. Revenue slipped 12% to RM275.97mil. - StarBiz

Leong charged with Maxbiz insider trading: Datuk Andrew Leong Wye Keong, a former substantial shareholder of delisted Maxbiz Corp Bhd, has been charged in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court with four counts of insider trading. Leong claimed trial on Monday. - StarBiz

WCT posts 276% jump in net profit on margin growth: WCT Holdings Bhd’s net profit for the quarter shot up by 276% to RM33.1mil in the first quarter, from RM8.8mil a year ago, due to healthy margin growth. Its revenue came in marginally lower at RM473.4mil compared to RM485mil a year earlier.

QL resources Q3 profit advances 24%: QL Resources Bhd’s net profit in the fourth quarter jumped by 24% to RM47.24mil from RM38.14mil a year ago, mainly due to higher crude palm oil price and gains from a disposal. Revenue was up 6% to RM813.7mil from RM770.2mil a year earlier. - StarBiz