Market wrap: US stocks rose on Monday after strong economic data boosted the housing sector and as investors bought recently battered shares in biotech and media. - Reuters
The DJIA rose 67.78 points, or 0.39%, to 17,545.18, the S&P 500 gained 10.9 points, or 0.52%, to 2,102.44 and the Nasdaq added 43.46 points, or 0.86%, to 5,091.70.
Forex summary
*The ringgit lost 0.41% to 4.1165 per US$
*It fell 0.27% to 4.5652 per euro
*Up 0.19% to 6.4032 to the pound sterling
*0.47% down to 2.9238 per Singapore dollar
*0.31% lower to 3.0279 per Aussie
*Down 0.42% to 3.3094 per 100 yen
Energy
Oil prices dipped again in early Asian trading on Tuesday as traders expected lower refinery consumption after the US summer, while Asia's weakening economies and high global production raised concerns about oversupply. US crude futures CLc1 were trading at US$41.84 per barrel at 0014 GMT, 3 cents below their last settlement and not far off more than six-year lows touched earlier this week. Brent futures LCOc1 were at US$48.61 a barrel, down 13 cents but still some way from their 2015 low of US$45.19. Both crude oil benchmarks are now almost a third below their last peak from May, and analysts say more falls could lie ahead. - Reuters
Top foreign news
US gives Shell final nod to drill for oil in Arctic: The Obama administration granted Royal Dutch Shell final clearance on Monday to resume drilling for oil and gas in the environmentally fragile Arctic Ocean for the first time since 2012. The US Department of the Interior permit allows Shell to drill in the oil-rich Chukchi Sea off the northwest coast of Alaska. Shell interrupted its drilling programme in the region in 2012 after suffering a series of mishaps, including losing control of an enormous rig. - Reuters
Bulky US inventories cast cloud on second-half GDP growth: An effort by US businesses to whittle down a huge inventory stockpile could weigh on production over the second half of the year and undercut economic growth. Business inventories have increased by more than US$100 billion in each of the last two quarters, a record back-to-back increase. - Reuters
Brookfield in US$6.5bil deal for Australian freight firm: A group led by Canada's Brookfield Asset Management will buy Australian logistics firm Asciano Ltd for A$8.9 billion (US$6.56 billion), creating a global port and rail freight business. The deal, the fifth-largest buyout of an Australian firm by an overseas entity and the biggest by a Canadian firm, underscores the huge international appetite for Australian infrastructure. - Reuters
Top local stories
Output unaffected: While more exploration drilling rigs in Malaysia will be left idle, ongoing programmes for rigs in the development and production phase will largely continue, which, in turn, will not cause any significant dips in pro- duction levels, said oil and gas analysts. - StarBiz
Affin profit increases: Affin Holdings Bhd
’s earnings rose 29.7% to RM139.38mil in the second quarter ended June 30 due to higher interest income. Its revenue for the quarter, however, was 4.2% lower at RM447.05mil, while earnings per share stood at 7.17 sen, compared with 7.19 sen before. - StarBiz
Norwegian fund excludes IJM and Genting: Norway’s US$871bil sovereign wealth fund Norges Bank has excluded IJM Corp Bhd and Genting Bhd from its investments due to risks of “severe environ- mental damage”. Two other companies that the fund said it would not invest in are South Korean steel- maker POSCO and Daewoo International Corp, a trading company and listed subsidiary of POSCO. - StarBiz
UEM Sunrise Q2 net profit rises: UEM Sunrise Bhd’s net profit for the second quarter rose 12.6% to RM83.91mil on lower expenses, higher income from dividend distribution from a subsidiary under creditors’ voluntary liquidation, and recognition of liquidated ascertained damages receivable from a contractor. However, revenue fell 16.8% to RM372.32mil due to lower contribution from property development. - StarBiz
Options on ringgit: Regulators have two choices in handling the current volatile ringgit: defend it by using international reserves or adjust the interest rates, says Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) group president and chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Farid Alias, who emphasised that the Malaysian economy’s fundamentals remained intact. “Regulators have a choice of either letting go of the interest rates or the currency,” Farid said. - StarBiz
Mara plans to open first rural bank in Malaysia: Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) hopes to open its first rural bank called Bank Luar Bandar Malaysia (BLBM) within the next five years. Director-general Datuk Ibrahim Ahmad said Mara was preparing all the necessary paperwork for the setting up of the bank. - StarBiz
HSBC: Yuan likely to settle at current levels: An international finance specialist said the yuan should settle at current levels following the adjustments done to the movement of the currency by the Cina's central bank last week. HSBC Bank global trade and receivables finance head Stuart Tait did not expect the range to fluctuate to 10% as predicted by some. “The reduction of 3% in yuan is about fin- ished now it’s beginning to settle at that level." - StarBiz
Zeti: China’s long-term growth prospects still intact: The long-term growth prospects for China remain intact, Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said, despite near-term concerns about the yuan precipitated by short-term challeng- es faced by the Chinese government. In an environment of continued weakness in the global trade, China’s short-term struggles include managing ongoing corrections in the real estate sector, leveraging on the financial system and the volatility in the stock market, she said. - digitaledge
Johor Corp to list RM252.36m Islamic REIT on Sept 22: Johor state investment arm Johor Corp will list its Islamic real estate investment trust (REIT) known as Al-Salam on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia on Sept 22. Al-Salam REIT is seeking to raise gross proceeds of RM252.36 million arising from the issuance of 252.36 million offer units, based on an offer price of RM1 per unit, which will account for 43.5% of the trust. - digitaledge
RM40b deals lost to unlicensed brokers: The Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Malaysia (Bovaea) has teamed up with the authorities to stop unlicensed people from acting as brokers in real estate transactions, after the industry lost RM40 billion worth of transactions to unlicensed property brokers last year alone. - digitaledge
AGMs/EGMs
Enra Group Bhd
Time: 10am
Venue: Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club, Off Jalan Bukit Kiara, Damansara
Poly Glass Fibre (M) Bhd
Time: 2.30pm
Venue: Evergreen Laurel Hotel Penang No. 53 Persiaran Gurney, Penang
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
