U.S. President Donald Trump looks up while holding a video conference call with Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Jack Fischer of NASA on the International Space Station from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., April 24, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
MarketWrap: The S&P 500 ended flat on Monday after briefly touching a record high, while Wall Street's "fear gauge" dropped to its lowest in over two decades following centrist Emmanuel Macron's victory in the French presidential election. The DJIA edged up 0.03% to end at 21,012.28 points, the S&P 500 gained 0.08 points to end at 2,399.37 and the Nasdaq added 0.03% to 6,102.66. - Reuters
Energy
Oil prices rose on Monday in volatile trading, bolstered by statements from major oil-producing countries suggesting that Opec and non-Opec supply cuts could be extended into 2018. Benchmark Brent crude settled up 24 cents, or 0.5%, at US$49.34 a barrel. - Reuters
Forex summary
*The ringgit lost 0.13% to 4.3415 versus the US$
*It gained 0.13% to 4.7441 versus euro
*Up 0.07% to 5.6210 per pound sterling
*Up 0.03% to 3.0862 per Singapore dollar
*Up 0.64% to 3.1943 per Aussie
*0.15% lower to 3.8343 per 100 yen
Top foreign stories
Trump review of Wall Street rules to be done in stages: The US government's review of a landmark 2010 financial reform law will not be complete by early June as originally targeted, and officials will now report findings piece-by-piece, with priority given to banking regulations, sources said on Monday. - Reuters
Japan real wages growth slowest in nearly two years: Japan's March real wages fell at the fastest pace in almost two years, pressured by meagre nominal pay hikes and a slight rise in consumer prices, posing a setback for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's attempts to revitalise the economy. Inflation-adjusted real wages dropped 0.8% in March from a year earlier to mark their biggest rate of decline since June 2015, labour ministry data showed on Tuesday. - Reuters
Comcast, Charter announce wireless partnership: Comcast Corp and Charter Communications Inc on Monday announced a wireless partnership, as the cable providers seek to add more services in a bid to reduce customer churn. The deal will also help speed up their entry into the highly competitive and over-saturated market for mobile service in the United States. - Reuters
CEO: Verizon does not feel pressure to do big deal: Verizon Communications Inc does not see an urgent need to undertake a big strategic merger or acquisition, its chief executive said on Monday, as some Wall Street analysts have urged the wireless company to do. - Reuters
Top local stories
HSR terminal project intact: The construction of the station for the high-speed rail (HSR) project in Bandar Malaysia will not be affected by the changes in the status of the master developer of the project, a source said. A consortium led by Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) is still in negotiations with Bandar Malaysia – wholly owned by the Ministry of Finance Inc (MoF) – to build an integrated transportation terminal to cater to the HSR project. - StarBiz
Media Prima primes into digital space: Digital media group REV Asia Bhd has proposed the disposal of its subsidiary REV Asia Holdings Sdn Bhd to Media Prima Bhd and Youth Asia Sdn Bhd for RM105mil. Under the agreement, Media Prima will pay RM73.5mil for a 70% stake in Rev Asia Holdings and fork out RM31.5mil for the balance 30% stake to Youth Asia. - StarBiz
Arul Kanda unaware of any changes to his positions at Bandar Malaysia, TRX: 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) president and CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy says he is unaware of any changes to his positions at Bandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd and TRX City Sdn Bhd. “I have not received any official notification on this matter and I am accordingly unable to comment on it,” he said. - StarBiz
TNB unit wins RM763m contract in Pakistan: Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) unit TNB Repair and Maintenance Sdn Bhd has bagged a US$176mil (RM763mil) contract to operate and maintain the 1,223-MW Balloki combined-cycle power plant in Punjab, Pakistan. The 12-year contract was award- ed by the National Power Parks Management Company (Pvt) Ltd, a government-linked company. - Bernama
Kimlun unit bags RM263m job: Kimlun Corp Bhd’s 40%-owned joint-venture company, JBB Kimlun Sdn Bhd, has bagged a RM263mil construction contract in Johor from Astaka Padu Sdn Bhd. The contract is for the construction of a block of office complex for Johor Baru City Council in Plentong. - Bernama
TH Plantations to continue selling non-core assets: TH Plantations Bhd plans to continue disposing of some of its non-core, non-strategic and under-performing assets amounting to RM150mil this year. - StarBiz
Petronas Coral 2.0 results in cost savings of RM5b: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas)’s industry-wide programme, Cost Reduction Alliance 2.0 (Coral 2.0), has resulted in cost savings of some RM5bil since its inception in 2015. President and group CEO Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said it had no intention of expanding Coral 2.0, which is limited to the upstream portion of its business to downstream. - StarBiz
Sapura Energy says interest in upstream projects picking up: Sapura Energy Bhd says it is beginning to see interest building in upstream projects following sharp rollbacks in recent years from lower oil prices. Sapura chief executive Shahril Shamsuddin attributed the increase in interest to the recovery in oil prices and the need to replenish a natural drop in reserves. - Reuters
Lay Hong selling 30% of G-Mart Borneo Retail: Lay Hong Bhd is disposing of a 30% stake in G-Mart Borneo Retail Sdn Bhd to PanPages for RM10.75mil, as it seeks to build up its online e-commerce business. The deal will allow PanPages to participate in G-Mart’s equity and collaborate with Lay Hong in the changing marketplace for its online business,” Lay Hong said.- StarBiz
Hovid gets manufacturing licence for Ipoh factory: Healthcare and pharmaceutical company Hovid Bhd has received a manufacturing licence for its Ipoh plant. The licence, given on Monday, enables the company to resume its operations. It is valid from May 5 and is to be renewed three months prior to the expiry date on Dec 31, 2017. - StarBiz
UOB Kay Hian: Market to be on cautious mode: The market is expected to briefly retrace from its earlier upward trend after the recent announcement by TRX City Sdn Bhd on Bandar Malaysia’s lapsed deal, says UOB Kay Hian Research. Events such as Malaysia’s upcoming participation in China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ summit should partially reignite some of the lost momentum in China’s foreign direct investment theme, it said. - StarBiz
Century Software secures RM7.5m contract from IRB: Censof Holdings Bhd unit Century Software (M) Sdn Bhd has secured a RM7.5mil, three-year contract to provide application maintenance services for the Inland Revenue Board’s (IRB) Electronic Revenue Accounting System and relevant hardware. - Bernama
MK Land unit to sell land for RM72m: MK Land Holdings Bhd Dominant Star Sdn Bhd will dispose of nine parcels of leasehold land measuring about 79.25 ha in Kamunting, Perak, for RM72mil. It expects to record a net gain of RM32.14mil from the sale. - Bernama
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
