Market wrap: Wall Street ended stronger on Thursday, with the Nasdaq up more than 1% at a record high after earnings reports from eBay and Netflix boosted optimism. Sentiment was also bolstered after the Greek parliament voted in favour of austerity measures. Uninspiring quarterly reports from Goldman Sachs and UnitedHealth, however, capped gains on the Dow. - Reuters
The DJIA rose 70.08 points, or 0.39%, to 18,120.25. The S&P 500 gained 16.89 points, or 0.8%, to 2,124.29 and Nasdaq added 64.24 points, or 1.26%, to end at 5,163.18.
Forex summary
*The local currency lost 0.04% to 3.8070 per US$
*It rose 0.31% to 4.1382 per euro
*Up 0.11% to 5.9362 to the pound sterling
*0.28% up to 2.7778 per Singapore dollar
*0.23% lower to 2.8178 per Aussie
*Up 0.08% to 3.0628 per 100 yen
Energy
Front-month Brent crude prices rose on Thursday after a power outage shut production at Britain's largest oilfield and as the August contract approached expiration. US crude futures settled lower after giving up gains reacting to data from industry intelligence firm Genscape showing higher crude inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma, hub, traders said. Expiring Brent August crude LCOQ5 rose 46 cents to settle and go off the board at US$57.51 a barrel, having reached US$58.21. September Brent crude LCOU5 fell 20 cents to settle at US$56.92, off its US$58 intraday peak. - Reuters
Top foreign news
Google rallies as profit beats forecasts on ad revenue growth: Shares in Google Inc rose nearly 12% after the Web search leader's profit beat forecasts for the first time in the last six quarters, boosted by strong advertising revenue and comments by its new chief financial officer on disciplined spending. Google rallied to US$673.50 in extended trading after closing at US$601.78 on Nasdaq. Google remains the most valuable publicly traded US company after Apple Inc. - Reuters
Europe moves to restore funding to Greece after bailout vote: Europe moved to re-open funding to Greece's stricken economy on Thursday after the parliament in Athens approved a new bailout program in a fractious vote that left the government without a majority. The European Central Bank increased emergency funding for Greek lenders, although capital controls will have to remain in place to avoid a run on the banks when they reopen on Monday. European Union finance ministers also approved 7 billion euros (US$7.6bil) in bridge loans to Greece, allowing it to make a bond payment to the ECB next Monday and clear its arrears with the International Monetary Fund. - Reuters
Yellen says open to raising threshold for systemic banks: Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen said on Thursday she was open to raising a threshold for determining a bank's systemic importance and indicated that US lenders had made progress in their submissions of so-called living will plans this month. The tacit nod of approval from the Fed chief is a good sign for Wall Street, as a rejection can be costly, though Yellen also made clear the US central bank will not hesitate to reject certain plans when it completes its assessment. - Reuters
Top local stories
So near yet so far: The agreement to restructure the water services industry in Selangor has been extended by two more months since the deal was first signed in November last year. But Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd
executive chairman Tan Sri Rozali Ismail has expressed fears that the conditions to firm up the deal between the Selangorand federal governments may take more than the two months that both parties have sought. - StarBiz
MAS to second pilots to other airlines: Just when many pilots thought they had secured long-term employ- ment with the new Malaysia Airlines Bhd, they were alerted by email informing them that a secondment exercise was on the cards. Some preliminary figures being bandied about say the secondment could involve up to 400 pilots, although the figures could not be verified. - StarBiz
Most newly-listed firms doing well: Despite the volatile stock market, four out of the five local newly-listed companies are trading above their initial public offering prices, setting the right tone for other listings to come to the market this year. - StarBiz
NCB may be privatised: The move by MMC Corp Bhd to raise its stake in port operator NCB Holdings Bhd may be a step towards being taken private, according to Maybank Investment Bank Research. MMC Corp recently raised its stake in NCB to 30.2%, from 21.1%, just shy of the 33% threshold that would trigger a manda- tory general offer. - StarBiz
Ralph Marshall resigns as Maxis director: Ralph Marshall has resigned as non-executive director of Maxis Bhd with effect from July 14. Maxis said that Marshall, 63, had resigned following a change in nominee direc- tors of Maxis Communications Bhd, which is the majority shareholder of the listed telecommunications company. - StarBiz
BCB shareholders advised to reject takeover offer: The independent adviser of property player BCB Bhd have urged minority shareholders to reject the takeover offer by Evergreen Ratio Sdn Bhd for the remaining shares it does not already own. The adviser, KAF Investment, said the offer was “not fair and not reasonable” on the notion that the offer price was unattractive and the offer, if accepted, could affect shareholders’ ability to realise their investment in BCB shares in the future. - StarBiz
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