Market wrap: US stocks closed higher on Wednesday and investors appeared positively inclined toward higher rates after minutes from the Federal Reserve October meeting showed a solid core of officials rallied behind a possible December rate hike. - Reuters
The DJIA rose 247.66 points, or 1.42%, to 17,737.16, the S&P 500 gained 33.14 points, or 1.62%, to 2,083.58 and the Nasdaq added 89.19 points, or 1.79%, to 5,075.20.
Forex summary
*The ringgit gained 0.58% to 4.3637 per US$
*It rose 0.57% to 4.6569 per euro
*Up 0.33% to 6.6504 to the pound sterling
*0.34% higher to 3.0716 per Singapore dollar
*0.30% higher to 3.1112 per Aussie
*Up 0.48% to 3.5332 per 100 yen
Energy
Oil fell to near three-month lows and US crude futures slipped to below US$40 a barrel before settling higher on Wednesday as short-covering lifted a market initially suppressed by worries about a global supply glut. Brent LCOc1 settled up 57 cents, or 1.3%, at US$44.14, helped by a relatively better outlook for the global crude benchmark versus WTI. - Reuters
Top foreign stories
BBC outlines RM996.8m budget cuts: The British Broadcasting Corp (BBC) outlined budget cuts of £150 million (RM996.8 million) that threaten its sports coverage as it addresses a shortfall worsened by falling television ownership. Some £50 million of the savings will come from streamlining, meaning fewer divisions and senior managers, and are part of cuts announced earlier this year that will lead to 1,000 job losses by 2017. Another £35 million will be saved from the BBC’s sports-rights budget, which it anticipates will lead to the “loss of some existing rights and events”. - AFP
US housing starts hit seven-month low: US housing starts in October fell to a seven-month low, weighed down by a steep decline in the construction of multi-family homes, but a surge in building permits suggested the housing market remained on solid ground. - Reuters
Fed officials again flag December, see smooth rates liftoff: Federal Reserve officials on Wednesday continued to flag December as a likely time for interest rates to rise after seven years near zero, with two expressing confidence they will be able to pull off a rate hike smoothly despite fears of an abrupt market reaction. Investors reacted by increasing the odds for a rate increase next month to 72%, from 64% on Tuesday, based on interest rate futures prices. - Reuters
US Treasury to tighten corporate tax inversion rules: The US Treasury Department will clamp down further this week on corporate income tax-avoiding "inversion" deals by US companies with foreign rivals, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Wednesday. With a major inversion deal in the works between US drug maker Pfizer Inc and smaller Irish competitor Allergan Plc, Treasury's move represents its latest step to curb such transactions and protect the US corporate tax base. - Reuters
LG Elec seeks US prime time for next-gen TV: The world's No. 2 TV maker, South Korea's LG Electronics Inc, is betting that chopping prices almost in half before the US year-end holiday season will create enough buzz to push its next-generation TV technology mainstream. The manufacturer and affiliate LG Display Co Ltd have invested billions of dollars in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays to rebuild profit decimated by Chinese competition in the liquid crystal display (LCD) TV market. - Reuters
Top local stories
Cityneon secures global rights to exhibit Transformers: Star Media Group Bhd
’s Singapore-listed subsidiary Cityneon Holdings Ltd has secured the rights to bring the Transformers experience to the global platform through its state-of-art exhibitions. - StarBiz
KLK gets downstream boost: Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd’s (KLK) downstream manufacturing seg- ment saw improved margins in its final quarter ended Sept 30 on cheaper input prices, which helped offset the weaker performance of its core plantation sector. Net profit in the three-month period climbed 9% to RM186.3mil while revenue swelled to RM3.9bil compared with RM2.8bil a year earlier. KLK has proposed a final dividend of 30 sen a share. - StarBiz
Kian Joo profit up on forex gains: Kian Joo Can Factory Bhd's third-quarter net profit rose by 16.95% year-on-year to RM44.25mil from RM37.83mil in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue in the quarter rose by a larger quantum of 21.77% to RM403.83mil from RM331.62mil. - StarBiz
OSK Holdings stake in RHB Cap may exceed 10%: OSK Holdings Bhd says it intends to fully subscribe to its entitlement in RHB Capital's rights issue, which would push up its shareholding in the latter to more than 10%. - StarBiz
OSK assures PJD minority shareholders of dividends: Minority shareholders of PJ Development Holdings Bhd (PJD) will continue to reap dividends from the company despite OSK Holdings Bhd now holding nearly 90% of PJD’s share base, says OSK Holdings group managing director and PJD chairman Tan Sri Ong Leong Huat. - StarBiz
Foreign control of utility firms seen good for industry: Foreign control of utility companies can be good for the industry as well as serving national interest, according to energy analysts and observers.
They noted recent concerns raised by some quarters on the speculated sale of power assets to foreign investors and felt such concerns did not consider the reality of the industry. - StarBiz
TSH Resources Q3 core profit before tax at RM20mil: Plantation firm TSH Resources Bhd said its core profit before taxation for the third quarter was halved to RM20.1mil versus a year ago due to lower average crude palm oil prices and lower crop production. The group’s performance was also impacted by higher unrealised foreign translation losses. - StarBiz
RM3,200 psf for 8 Conlay project: The signature sales gallery of 8 Conlay, a mixed-used development at Jalan Conlay in Kuala Lumpur city centre, was unveiled yesterday, with the project coming in at a higher gross development value of RM5.4bil from RM4.5bil – raising its price per sq ft from RM2,700 to RM3,200 due to “strong interest”. - StarBiz
October vehicle sales up 3%: Total vehicle sales in October rose by 3% to 55,754 units from 54,191 units a year earlier, the Malaysian Automotive Association said. The sales volume for the month was 9% higher than in September due to consumers buying forward in anticipation of the increase in car prices in 2016. - Bernama
Syafiq sells down Hibiscus stake: Datuk Seri Muhammad Syafiq Baljit Abdullah ceased to be a substantial shareholder in Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd on Nov 4 after he sold 67 million shares. This had halved his holdings in the company from 115 million shares previously. - StarBiz
CIMB in JV with Philippine telco: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd has entered into a strategic collaboration agreement with Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PLDT) to push digital financial offerings and solutions in the Philippines and across Asean. - StarBiz
FGV: Decision on Eagle High’s price by November: Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) will decide on the final price for its proposed acquisition of Indonesia-based PT Eagle High Plantations Tbk once it receives the due diligence report by end of this month, taking into account the depreciation of the ringgit against the US dollar, as well as the level of crude palm oil price. - Edge FD
Barclays sees oil demand tripling next year; oil price to reach US$60 per barrel: Barclays Corporate Banking plc predicts that demand for oil will triple in 2016, and that oil price, which is now about US$45 (RM197.55) per barrel, will rise to US$50 per barrel by end-2015 and to US$60 per barrel next year. The expected oil price rise will be spurred by a sustained doubling of growth in global demand of up to four million barrels per day, it said in a statement. - Edge FD
Padini sees difficult year in FY16: Apparel retailer Padini Holdings Bhd expects the current financial year ending June 30, 2016 (FY16) to be more challenging than FY15 as margins continue to compress due to absorption of the goods and services tax and the weakening ringgit which has affected the cost of goods. - Edge FD
Lafarge Malaysia 3Q net profit jumps on higher sales revenue: Lafarge Malaysia Bhd recorded a 28.9% increase in net profit to RM70.65 million for its third quarter, mainly due to higher sales revenue from the cement segment, improved plant performance, and higher foreign exchange (forex) gains. Revenue rose slightly to RM670.88 million from RM664.63 million a year earlier. The group declared a third interim dividend of 8 sen per share. - Edge FD
ES Ceramics eyes Main Market transfer in 3 years: ACE Market-listed ES Ceramics Technology Bhd, which saw its net profit more than double in the last financial year ended May 31, 2015, plans to transfer to the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia in three years. - Edge FD
Tan Chong’s 3Q net profit jumps more than 15-fold: Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd saw its net profit for the third quarter rise more than 15-fold to RM29.18 million from RM1.87 million a year ago due to a significant increase in operating profit, which rose 146.6% to RM53.19 million. Revenue for the quarter climbed 19.13% to RM1.37 billion due to better performance across all business segments. - Edge FD
‘Malaysia’s debt- servicing cost to hit 11.4% in 2016’: Malaysia is facing rising debt-servicing cost as a percentage of revenue, which is expected to hit 11.4% in 2016 — higher than most of its emerging-market peers — given its relatively hefty debt load and weaker earning prospects, said RAM Rating Services Bhd. - Edge FD
AGMs/EGMs
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