Speculation is mounting ahead of a meeting between Japan's prime minister and the head of the central bank as to whether the Bank of Japan will have to ramp up its stimulus programme and if the government will go ahead with another sales tax hike - Reuters Photo.
Energy
Brent crude was 1.18% lower to US$47.54 per barrel at 3.31pm.
Forex
Ringgit up 0.09% to 4.2960 versus the US dollar at 3.39pm.
Top foreign stories
BoJ offers to buy unlimited amount of bonds to calm markets: The Bank of Japan (BoJ) said it would buy an unlimited amount of bonds on Friday, as it sought to put a lid on domestic interest rates pushed higher by the broad sell-off in developed market bonds. Its aggressive bond buying operation sent most Japanese government bond yields lower and weakened the yen. — Reuters
Japan’s GPIF posts US$69.5b gain: Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund, the world’s largest pension fund, posted a gain of 7.9 trillion yen (US$69.5 billion) in the fiscal year ended on March 31 as global stock markets rallied. GPIF on Friday reported a return of 5.86% in the year, on assets worth 144.9 trillion yen. — Reuters
Oil prices slump over 1% on rise in US output: Oil prices fell by more than 1% on Friday, with US crude futures dipping below US$45 per barrel as news of a rise in US production added to earlier reports that Opec output was also on the rise. Brent crude futures were trading down 61 cents, or 1.3%, at US$47.50 per barrel by 0638 GMT. — Reuters
Berkshire Hathaway Energy to buy Oncor: Berkshire Hathaway Energy, a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc, said on Friday it would acquire Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC in a deal that puts Oncor’s equity value at about US$11.25 billion. — Reuters
US job growth seen accelerating; unemployment rate steady: A poll of economists show the Labor Department’s closely watched employment report on Friday will probably show that nonfarm payrolls increased by 179,000 jobs last month after gaining 138,000 in May. The unemployment rate is forecast steady at a 16-year low of 4.3%. — Reuters
Top local stories
MCMC probing cyber attacks on online trading platforms: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said it is assisting the stock exchange in investigating reports of the disruption of online trading at several local brokerages. — StarBiz
Star Media Group gets shareholders’ nod to sell Cityneon: Star Media Group Bhd has received shareholders’ approval to dispose of its 52.51% stake in Singapore-listed Cityneon Holdings Ltd. At its EGM on Friday, the group received 94.97% of the votes to sell the stake for S$115.61mil or about RM360mil. - StarBiz
May exports beat forecasts with 32% jump: Malaysia’s exports in May exceeded forecasts, growing by 32.5% to RM79.4bil versus analysts’ expectations of a 23.4% growth. Imports increased by 30.4% to RM73.91bil, resulting in a trade surplus of RM5.49bil for the month. — StarBiz
Maybank IB may buy up to 27.8m Lotte Chemical shares to stabilise price: Maybank Investment Bank, the stabilising manager for Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd
’s initial public offering (IPO), may buy up to 27.76 million shares, or about 4.8%of the shares offered under the IPO, to stabilise the share price. — StarBiz
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