MarketWatch: The S&P 500 cut earlier losses on Monday to end slightly lower, while the Dow declined for an eighth straight session, as investors assessed how the defeat of President Donald Trump's first major legislative action would impact the rest of his agenda. The DJIA fell 45.74 points, or 0.22%, to 20,550.98, the S&P 500 lost 2.39 points, or 0.10%, to 2,341.59 and the Nasdaq added 11.64 points, or 0.2%, to 5,840.37. - Reuters
Energy
Oil resumed its slide on Monday as investors remained uncertain whether producing nations would extend an Opec-led output cut beyond the end of June in an effort to reduce a global glut of crude. Brent crude fell 17 cents to US$50.63. - Reuters
Forex summary
*The ringgit lost 0.09% to 4.4173 per US$
*It fell 0.24% to 4.7992 versus euro
*Down 0.17% to 5.5504 per pound sterling
*Down 0.15% to 3.1686 per Singapore dollar
*0.12% lower to 3.3682 per Aussie
*0.11% lower at 3.9926 per 100 yen
Top foreign stories
Asset sales plan secures EU backing for US$130b Dow, DuPont merger: Dow Chemical and DuPont won the blessing of the European Union for their US$130 billion merger on Monday by agreeing to sell substantial assets including key research and development activities. - Reuters
Samsung Electronics says to sell refurbished Galaxy Note 7s: Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Monday it plans to sell refurbished versions of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones that were pulled from markets due to fire-prone batteries. - Reuters
Saudi Arabia sweetens huge Aramco IPO with tax cut: Saudi Arabia's government has cut the income tax paid by national oil giant Saudi Aramco to smooth the company's initial public offer of shares next year, which is expected to be the world's largest equity sale. A royal decree on Monday, retroactive to Jan 1, set a tax rate of 50% for the firm. Previously, Aramco had paid 85% tax, plus a 20% royalty levied at a different stage; the decree did not mention the royalty. - Reuters
On the eve of Brexit, Qatar pledges over US$6b in investment in Britain: Qatar pledged 5 billion pounds (US$6.3 billion) of investment in Britain on Monday in a show of support for the world's fifth-largest economy just two days before Prime Minister Theresa May triggers formal Brexit talks. The wealthy Gulf state has 40 billion pounds of investments in the United Kingdom. - Reuters
Top local stories
More restructuring for PNB companies: Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) will continue to unlock value in its companies, encouraged by the RM20bil rise in market value of its six main listed entities. Group chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar said he wants to see PNB investee companies go back to their core activities. He alluded to more restructuring taking place to create more “pure play” companies within the PNB stable. - StarBiz
* PNB says it is not going to acquire more highways as it begins prepping its infrastructure unit Projek Lintasan Kota Holdings Sdn Bhd (Prolintas) to get listed as early as next year. It is in the midst of acquiring Silk highway for RM380mil. - StarBiz
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