The sign of the International Monetary Fund at the entrance of the Headquarters of the IMF, also known as building HQ2, in Washington, DC. Global growth is projected at 3.5% for 2015 and 3.7% for 2016, the IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook report, lowering its forecast by 0.3 percentage points for both years - EPA Photo.
MarketWrap: Major US stock indexes closed little changed on Thursday, even as declining names outnumbered advancers, ahead of job market data seen as key to determine whether the Federal Reserve will raise rates before the end of the year. - Reuters
The DJIA fell 12.53 points, or 0.07%, to 18,268.5, the S&P 500 gained 1.04 points, or 0.05%, to 2,160.77 and the Nasdaq dropped 9.17 points, or 0.17%, to 5,306.85.
Forex summary
*The ringgit lost 0.12% to 4.1528 per US$
*It was 0.19% higher at 4.6251 per euro
*Up 2.33% to 5.1476 per pound sterling
*Down 0.20% to 3.0249 per Singapore dollar
*0.06% higher to 3.1413 per Aussie
*Down 0.41% to 3.9949 per 100 yen
Energy
Oil rose more than 1% to four-month highs on Thursday, spurred by another informal Opec meeting on output cuts and plunging US crude inventories, with some saying the market has overshot itself with a near 15% gain in seven sessions. Brent crude LCOc1 settled up 65 cents, or 1.3%, at US$52.51 a barrel. It rose earlier to US$52.65, its highest since June 9. - Reuters
Top foreign stories
Snapchat parent working on IPO valuing firm at US$25b or more: Photo-sharing app Snapchat's parent is working on an initial public offering that could value the company at US$25 billion or more, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources. - Reuters
Deutsche Bank in informal talks about raising capital: Deutsche Bank AG is in informal talks with securities firms to explore options including raising capital should mounting legal bills require it, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. Senior advisers at top Wall Street firms are speaking to representatives of Deutsche Bank about ideas including a share sale and asset disposals, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the discussions. - Reuters
Samsung Electronics' third quarter profit guidance beats estimates: Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co said it expects third-quarter operating profit grew 5.6% to 7.8 trillion won (US$7 billion), beating estimates, as a pickup in chip and display earnings likely offset the impact of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone recall. - Reuters
Global finance leaders fret over populist backlash: World finance leaders on Thursday decried a growing populist backlash against globalisation and pledged to take steps to ensure trade and economic integration benefited more people currently left behind. - Reuters
IMF warns US rate hike could disrupt Asian capital flows: A disorderly reaction to possible US interest rate hikes could disrupt capital flows and heighten asset price volatility in Asia, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday. The prospect of subdued growth in advanced economies can also create negative spillovers for emerging Asian nations as weak exports weigh on the region's growth and inflation, the IMF said in a report on the Asia-Pacific region. - Reuters
Top local stories
Sime in land deals: Sime Darby Bhd
is selling a huge tract of land in Semenyih, Selangor, to sister company I&P Group Sdn Bhd for RM428.8mil cash. The plantation giant said it would use the proceeds from the disposal to develop its strategic property projects. It is also buying two oil palm estates and a mill in Yong Peng, Johor, from I&P for RM106.7mil cash. - StarBiz
Malaysia’s palm oil reserves seen rebounding: Palm oil stockpiles in Malaysia probably expanded for the first time in three months as a bull market rally curbed demand and a seasonal pick up in production boosted supply. Inventories rose 3.4% to 1.51 million tonnes last month from August, a survey shows. Crude palm oil production rose 4.7% to 1.78 million tonnes, while exports slumped 15% to 1.53 million tonnes, the biggest decline since February 2015. - Bloomberg
RM47mil worth of BAuto shares traded off-market: A block of 22 million shares, or 2% stake, in Berjaya Auto Bhd (BAuto) worth RM47mil were crossed off-market on Thursday. Sources say the buyers could be the management of the company and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB). - StarBiz
Local developers get first bite of Bandar Malaysia: Bandar Malaysia’s master developer is getting domestic and foreign developers and investors to participate in the development of the project, but will give priority to local parties. CBRE|WTW, the transaction adviser for the 486-acre project, has already received expressions of interest from several parties, deputy managing director Danny Yeo said. - StarBiz
Higher Q3 earnings for LPI Capital boosted by Lonpac: Insurer LPI Capital Bhd posted higher earnings of RM77.77mil in the third quarter, contributed by profit from the general insurance segment under Lonpac Insurance Bhd. Its revenue rose 4% to RM363.53mil. - StarBiz
HSBC expects Bank Negara to cut OPR in November: HSBC Global Research expects Bank Negara to cut the overnight policy rate (OPR) by another 25 basis points to 2.75% at its last Monetary Policy Committee meeting of the year on Nov 23. - Bernama
Nestle Malaysia eyes RM500m from e-commerce: Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd is striving to generate about RM500mil in revenue from its e-commerce segment within the next five years, or sooner. - StarBiz
Perak Transit makes debut on Ace Market for 3 sen premium: Perak Transit Bhd made its debut on the Ace Market of Bursa Malaysia at 18 sen, for a premium of three sen, over its issue price of 15 sen per share. The Ipoh-based bus company saw 17.8 million shares changing hands at the opening bell. - StarBiz
Fitch: Asean banks resilient despite headwinds: Asean banks are equipped with adequate loss-absorption buffers which should support their ratings in the face of external headwinds and a slowdown in growth, Fitch Ratings said. - StarBiz
EA will tender for RM1bil contracts: Shipping company E.A Technique (M) Bhd is in the midst of ten- dering for four to five new contracts in the shipping and oil and gas segments worth close to RM1bil. It current order-book stands at RM1.7bil. - StarBiz
Selangor-Splash negotiation set to be extended: The Selangor government’s discussion with shareholders of Syarikat Pengeluar Air Selangor Holdings Bhd (Splash) on the takeover of the water concessionaire looks set to be extended beyond the Oct 7 deadline. The energy, green technology and water ministry has given the green light for the negotiation to be extended until the two sides can agree on a price for the water treatment operator’s assets. - Edge FD
Dufu plans two-into-one share consolidation: Dufu Technology Corp Bhd plans to consolidate two shares of 50 sen each into one share of RM1 to improve its capital structure by the fourth quarter of 2016. It also plans to establish an executive share option scheme of up to 15% of capital. - Edge FD
Brahmal acquires 3% interest in OCK: Businessman Brahmal Vasudevan is believed to have recently taken up a stake of up to 3% in telecommunication services company OCK Group Bhd, a source said, adding that he may consider upping his stake to a substantial one. - Edge FD
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