Breakfast briefing: Wednesday, July 26 (Update)

Malaysia

MarketWatch: The S&P 500 climbed to an all-time high on Tuesday on a heavy day of corporate results highlighted by well-received reports from McDonald's and Caterpillar and gains for bank shares. The Nasdaq also managed to set a record high despite declines in Google parent Alphabet after its results. The DJIA rose 100.26 points, or 0.47%, to 21,613.43, the S&P 500 gained 7.17 points, or 0.29%, to 2,477.08 and the Nasdaq added 1.37 points, or 0.02%, to 6,412.17. - Reuters

 

Energy

 

Oil rose 3.3% on Tuesday to the highest close in more than a month, a day after US oil producer Anadarko said it would cut capital spending plans and Saudi Arabia vowed to reduce crude exports to help curb global oversupply. Brent crude futures rose US$1.60 or 3.3% to settle at US$50.20 a barrel, the first time the benchmark closed above US$50 since June 6. - Reuters

 

Forex summary

*The ringgit lost 0.07% to 4.2845 versus the US$

*It was down 0.03% to 4.9916 versus euro

*Down 0.06% to 5.5809 per pound sterling

*Up 0.01% to 3.1445 per Singapore dollar

*Up 0.09% to 3.3912 per Aussie

*Down 0.08% to 3.8293 per 100 yen

 

Top foreign stories

 

AT&T's quarterly profit tops Wall Street estimates: AT&T Inc's quarterly profit topped Wall Street estimates on Tuesday as the No. 2 US wireless carrier lowered operating costs and introduced new promotions bundling video with phone service that helped it compete in a fierce market for customers. Net income attributable to AT&T rose to US$3.9 billion in the second quarter from US$3.4 billion a year earlier. - Reuters

 

Fintech investments hit record high in second quarter: Venture capital investment in financial technology companies grew 38% globally in second quarter of 2017 from the same period last year, according to new data released by CB Insights. Fintech firms raised US$5.19 billion from 251 deals in the three months ending in June, up from US$3.75 billion a year earlier, according to the report published on Tuesday. It was the highest quarter on record by amount raised, CB Insights said. - Reuters

 

Macquarie taps advisers for up to US$4.5b Puget Energy stake sale: Macquarie Group has chosen Moelis & Co and its own investment banking arm to advise on the sale of its 42% stake in Washington utility Puget Energy, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The stake, which is worth as much as US$4.5 billion and held in a fund belonging to Macquarie's infrastructure business, will be put up for sale later this year, they said. - Reuters

 

Jobs lift US consumer confidence to near 16-year high: US consumer confidence jumped to a near 16-year high in July amid optimism over the labor market while house prices maintained their upward trend in May, which could boost consumer spending after recent sluggishness. - Reuters

 

Top local stories

 

NDF no longer an issue: The measures taken to clamp down on non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) or offshore market trading for US dollar/ringgit last November were right, says Bank Negara governor Datuk Seri Muhammad Ibrahim. He explained the measures to restrict the activities in the NDF market were implemented to stabilise the spot or onshore market. - StarBiz

 

Johari: 1MDB issues don’t reflect how GLCs are run: The incidents surrounding 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) are not an accurate representation of how the government or government-linked companies (GLCs) are run, said Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani. “To say that the government has no govern- ance is also not right because we are produc- ing the numbers and have good standing in international and regional rankings,” he said. - StarBiz

 

Alam Maritim gets extension to submit revamp scheme: Alam Maritim Resources Bhd has received an extension until Aug 11 from the Corporate Debt Restructuring Committee to submit its proposed restructuring scheme on its debt. - StarBiz

 

Aturmaju aborts private placement plan: Aturmaju Resources Bhd has decided to abort its proposed private placement due to market conditions, including the deteriorating market price of its shares. The board would explore alternative methods of fundraising to meet the group’s funding requirement. - StarBiz

 

AAX Malaysia passengers up to 1.39 million: AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) carried slightly more than a third more passengers of 1.39 million in the second quarter. The long-haul budget carrier said operating performance in the period trended slightly above expectations despite Q2 historically being the leanest quarter. - StarBiz

 

Higher profit for Public Bank: Public Bank Bhd’s net profit rose 6% to RM1.33bil in the second quarter on revenue that increased 3.75% to RM5.17bil. It declared an interim dividend of 27 sen, amounting to a payout of RM1.04bil. - StarBiz

 

Serba Dinamik group bags six new contracts: Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd subsidiaries have secured six operations and maintenance contracts in the oil and gas industry valued at RM522.92mil. - StarBiz

 

Gabungan AQRS sets placement share price at RM1.35: Gabungan AQRS Bhd has set the price of its placement shares at RM1.35 apiece. It will be raising RM26.3mil from its private placement of 19.48 million new shares to be used as working capital for its construction jobs. - StarBiz

 

Construction sector urged to adopt IBS: The construction industry should be prepared to adopt the industrialised building system (IBS) within three years before it is made mandatory, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. - StarBiz

 

Creed Asia sells down IWC stake: Creed Asia Development (M) Sdn Bhd has ceased to be a substantial shareholder in Iskandar Waterfront City Bhd (IWC) after it disposed of a further 5.88 million shares on the open market, reducing its stake to less than 5%. - StarBiz

 

EPF defends move to exit troubled companies: While institutional investors are often criticised for “taking the easy way out” when they exit troubled companies, it is sometimes wiser to leave when the investee company refuses to make changes, says the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) CEO Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan. - StarBiz

 

Prime Minister launches Bursa’s Leap Market: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak officially launched Bursa Malaysia’s Leading Entrepreneur Accelerator Platform (Leap) Market at Invest Malaysia Kuala Lumpur 2017 on Tuesday. The new market aims to provide small and medium enterprises with an alternative and efficient fund-raising platform and visibility through the capital market. - StarBiz

 

Mier forecasts 3.8% inflation: Malaysia is projected to record a higher inflation of 3.8% this year, primarily attributed to a weak ringgit and rising trans- portation-related costs, says the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (Mier). It also revised its gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection upward to 4.8%, compared with its earlier estimate of 4.5%. - StarBiz