MarketWrap: Wall Street closed higher on Thursday as investors digested the implications of a British lawmaker's death on the country's impending referendum on whether to leave the European Union. - Reuters
The DJIA rose 92.93 points, or 0.53%, to 17,733.1, the S&P gained 6.49 points, or 0.31%, to 2,077.99 and the Nasdaq added 9.98 points, or 0.21% to 4,844.92.
Forex summary
*The ringgit gained 0.12% to 4.0950 per US$
*It was 0.15% higher to 4.6101 per euro
*Down 0.50% to 5.8379 to the pound sterling
*0.04% lower to 3.0362 per Singapore dollar
*0.31% lower to 3.0273 per Aussie
*Up 0.56% to 3.9106 per 100 yen
Energy
Oil prices slumped about 4% and hit one-month lows on Thursday, settling down for a sixth straight day, on fears of global economic turmoil if Britain exits the European Union. Brent crude futures' front-month contact LCOc1 settled down US$1.78, or 3.6%, at US$47.19 per barrel. In post-settlement trade, it fell to as low as US$46.94, its lowest since May 12.
Top foreign stories
Cosmetics maker Revlon to buy Elizabeth Arden in US$870m deal: Cosmetics maker Revlon Inc has agreed to buy Elizabeth Arden Inc in an US$870 million deal to strengthen its skincare and fragrance business and expand in high-growth markets including the Asia-Pacific region. - Reuters
Wal-Mart targets new sales of up to US$60b by 2019: Wal-Mart Stores, the world's biggest retailer, expects to add US$45 billion to US$60 billion of new sales over the next three years, its chief executive said on Thursday. - Reuters
Top local stories
A less volatile ringgit?: The new mechanism to determine the ringgit’s value based on volume traded would minimise the chances of collusion among banks to fix the currency at a rate that does not reflect its fundamentals. Several foreign-exchange strategists said the new mechanism is also expected to reduce volatility of the currency, while making it more market-driven. - StarBiz
Bandar Malaysia JV secures funding: A consortium comprising four local banks and four international banks with a combined asset base exceeding US$13 trillion has set up a new fund, called Bandar Malaysia Fund, to finance and speed up the development of the Bandar Malaysia, which has a gross development value of RM200bil. - StarBiz
MRCB aims big at Bandar Malaysia transport terminal: Construction and property firm Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB), which has entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Wondrous Vista Development Sdn Bhd and IWH CREC Sdn Bhd to collaborate on developing an integrated transportation terminal at Bandar Malaysia, intends to do better than the flagship KL Sentral project in its future projects. - StarBiz
Mah Sing seeks JV with Govt: Mah Sing Group is in talks with the Government with the view of having a tie-up as it looks to further expand its affordable homes portfolio. So far nothing has been confirmed. “The Government has a lot of land so basically it is ideal at this current point as it will benefit both parties,” said managing director Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum. - StarBiz
CEO: CIMB’s profit target ‘challenging’: CIMB Group
Holdings Bhd may have to lower a profitability target even as it considers shutting some underperforming businesses to reduce costs. The goal of 15% return on equity by the end of 2018 would be “very challenging” to meet, said chief executive officer Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz. - StarBiz
SP Setia to launch third project in Melbourne: SP Setia Bhd’s third property launch in Melbourne, Australia, is being brought to the market just six months after the developer bought the land there for A$6.68mil. Called Maison Carnegie, the residential project will have a gross development value of A$32mil and be completed towards the end of 2017. - StarBiz
Report: SP Setia may be affected by Brexit: A number of Malaysian companies with investments in Britain would be affected should Britons decide to leave the European Union (EU) in a referendum on June 23, UOB Kay Hian said in a report. The research house said property developer SP Setia Bhd, which has a big exposure to Britain due the Battersea Power Station project would likely be affected. It derived 40% of its earnings from the London project. - StarBiz
MyCC: Megasteel didn’t infringe Competition Act: The Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) has reiterated that Lion Corp Bhd’s 78.89%-owned indirect subsidiary Megasteel Sdn Bhd did not infringe the Competition Act 2010 by abusing its dominant position as had been decided earlier on April 15. - StarBiz
BLD to expand oil palm estate in Sarawak to 32,200ha: BLD Plantation Bhd will expand the company’s oil palm estate area in Sarawak by more than 12% to 32,200ha following the completion of the proposed acquisition of Pekan Semangat Sdn Bhd for RM155.22mil cash. - StarBiz
Press Metal sees revenue hitting record RM6b in FY16: Press Metal Bhd may achieve a record high revenue of RM6 billion in its current financial year ending Dec 31, 2016, with additional capacity coming onstream and aluminium prices staying in the US$1,600 (RM6,560) range. - Edge FD
EPF emerges as DKSH’s substantial shareholder: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has emerged as a substantial shareholder of DKSH Holdings (M) Bhd for the first time, with a 5.02% stake. - Edge FD
Mudajaya optimistic of winning jobs in RM8b tenders: With the calendar soon turning to the second half of 2016, Mudajaya Group Bhd is hopeful of securing its rst construction contract from the RM8 billion worth of tenders it has submitted for the year so far. - Edge FD
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