People walk past a logo next to the main entrance of the Google building in Zurich March 9, 2011. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/Files
MarketWrap: US stocks dropped on Tuesday as investors fretted about Britain's exit from the European Union and the prospect of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike in coming months. - Reuters
The DJIA fell 0.47% to end at 18,168.45, the S&P 500 lost 0.5% to 2,150.49 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.21% to 5,289.66.
Forex summary
*The ringgit lost 0.22% to 4.1375 per US$
*It was 0.65% lower at 4.6204 per euro
*Up 0.02% to 5.2693 per pound sterling
*Down 0.19% to 3.0207 per Singapore dollar
*0.21% higher to 3.1568 per Aussie
*Down 0.32% to 4.0246 per 100 yen
Energy
Oil settled down on Tuesday after a surging dollar offset optimism over planned Opec output cuts, before a report suggesting another weekly drop in US crude stocks took prices up again post-settlement toward four-month highs. Brent crude LCOc1 settled down 2 cents at US$50.87 a barrel, after rising to US$51.37 during the session, its highest since June 10. - Reuters
Top foreign stories
Google takes on Apple, Amazon with new hardware push: Alphabet Inc's Google on Tuesday announced a new "Pixel" smartphone and a suite of new consumer electronics products for the home, planting itself firmly in the hardware business and challenging Apple Inc's iPhone at the high end of the US$400 billion global smartphone market. - Reuters
IMF chief economist sees no danger of US economy overheating: The US economy is not in danger of overheating, and the Federal Reserve should continue its data-dependent approach to another interest rate hike, the International Monetary Fund chief economist Maurice Obstfeld said on Tuesday. - Reuters
ABB rejects shareholder calls to spin off Power Grids: ABB will keep its Power Grids business in a rejection of demands from an activist investor to spin it off and the Swiss engineering group has also unveiled plans for a US$3 billion share buyback from next year. - Reuters
Hitachi said to consider stake sale in Kokusai unit: Hitachi Ltd is considering a sale of its controlling stake in Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc that could ultimately lead to a takeover of the entire unit, sources said. Hitachi Kokusai, which produces equipment for semiconductor makers and wireless-network gear manufacturers, has drawn interest from potential bidders, said the people. Bloomberg
‘Hard Brexit’ could cost UK finance firms 38bil pounds: The British financial industry could lose up to 38 billion pounds (US$48.34 billion) in revenue in a so-called 'hard Brexit' that would leave it with restricted access to the EU single market, a reports says. If finance firms lose the right to freely sell their services across Europe, 75,000 jobs may disappear, according to the report by consultancy firm Oliver Wyman. - Reuters
Top local stories
Sime Darby nets RM2.35b from placement: Sime Darby Bhd
on Tuesday successfully placed out new shares that were priced at the top end of the offer price range of between RM7.40 and RM7.45 per share. Assuming the new shares were placed out at RM7.45 per share, Sime Darby would have raised RM2.35bil. - StarBiz
* The conglomerate also announced its proposed reverse takeover of Singapore-listed Saizen real estate investment trust (REIT) had hit a temporary snag. It said the framework agreement signed in August with Saizen REIT’s manager Japan Residential Assets Manager Ltd to acquire a majority stake in the Singapore-based REIT had lapsed. - StarBiz
Perisai, JV partner get financing offer: Perisai Petroleum Teknologi Bhd and joint-venture (JV) partner Emas Offshore Ltd have received an indicative offer of financing from a financial institution, following the rejection of Perisai’s initial restructuring plan by bondholders for its S$125mil (RM377mil )medium-term notes. - StarBiz
TNB unit to issue US$2.5b multi-currency sukuk: TNB Global Ventures Capital Bhd, a subsidiary of Tenaga Nasional Bhd, is issuing a US$2.5 billion multi-currency sukuk, with TNB as the entity contractually bound to make all principal repayments and interest payments on outstanding debt. - StarBiz
Mieco gets takeover offer from SYF Resources’ Ng: Mieco Chipboard Bhd has received an unconditional mandatory takeover offer from SYF Resources Bhd executive chairman and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Ng Ah Chai. Ng has offered to acquire all the remaining shares of Mieco not already held by him for 90 sen each cash. - StarBiz
Ranhill gets the nod for third power plant: Ranhill Holdings Bhd has secured regulatory approvals for a proposal to build a 300-MW combined-cycle gas plant in Sabah via a consortium of private companies. - StarBiz
Perdana wins RM67mil deal from Petronas Carigali: Perdana Petroleum Bhd has secured an RM67mil contract from Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd to supply a floating accommodation vessel. - StarBiz
Lion Corp reaches end of the road as a listed company: Lion Corp Bhd said on Tuesday it will not appeal against Bursa Malaysia Securities’ rejection of its request for more time to submit its regularisation plan, a move that will result in its delisting on Oct 12. - StarBiz
Econpile gets RM280mil contract: Econpile Holdings Bhd has secured a contract worth RM280mil from ASM Development (KL) Sdn Bhd for the construction work of a mixed development in Kuala Lumpur. - StarBiz
AMB: Banks giving full support to SMEs: Commercial banks remain fully supportive of businesses and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by ensuring they continue to have access to financing, says the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM). The association was responding to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2016 – 2017 report findings that access to financing was one of the issues for doing business in Malaysia. - StarBiz
Survey: Ringgit still affected mainly by oil prices: Oil prices continue to be the main issue impacting the ringgit with the US rate hike representing a secondary challenge, according to a Bloomberg survey. The oil, gas and energy sector accounts for about a fifth of Malaysia’s gross domestic product, and movements in the ringgit have largely tracked oil price fluctuations. - StarBiz
FMM’s wishlist for Budget 2017: The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) is anticipating measures to deal with rising cost of doing business in Budget 2017. “We also hope to see the Government introducing measures to increase productivity, through enhancing automation, improving processes and reducing wastes,” FMM chief executive officer Dr Yeoh Oon Tean said. - StarBiz
Govt in talks with EPF on higher housing withdrawal: The Government is discussing with the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to provide flexibility to first-time home buyers in withdrawing more from their account to aid their affordable home financial needs. - StarBiz
Debt market still busy but equity market slows down: Malaysia’s equity and equity-linked securities declined 18.1% from RM10.1 billion to RM8.27 billion in the first three quarters of 2016, while issuance bonds were up by about 50% to RM59.5 billion from RM39.7 billion, Bloomberg’s Q3 2016 Malaysia Capital Markets League Tables Report shows. - Edge FD
Aeon Credit 2Q net profit up 13.8%: Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd’s net profit rose 13.8% year-on-year to RM55.19 million in the second quarter on a revenue that increased 17.7% to RM269.13 million. It declared an interim dividend of 30.5 sen. - Edge FD
Foreign investors pulled out RM207.2m from Bursa in September: Foreign investors offloaded RM207.2 million from Bursa Malaysia in September, compared with a net purchase of RM1.58 billion in August, according to MIDF Research. - Edge FD
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