US: Fed's Powell weighs Delta risk, gives no signal on start of bond-buying taper. The US economy continues to make progress towards the Fed’s benchmarks for reducing its pandemic-era emergency programs, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said, in remarks that defended the view current high inflation will likely pass and stopped short of signaling the timing for any policy shift. (Reuters)
US: Consumer sentiment plummets to near-decade low. US consumer sentiment plunged to its lowest level in nearly a decade in Aug as consumers’ views of their personal financial prospects continued to worsen due to smaller income gains amid higher inflationary trends. The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index fell to 70.3 in Aug - the lowest since Dec 2011 - from July’s final reading of 81.2. (Reuters)
US: Automobiles restrain US consumer spending, monthly inflation slowing. US consumer spending slowed in July as a decline in motor vehicle purchases due to shortages offset a rise in outlays on services, supporting views that economic growth will moderate in the third quarter amid a resurgence in COVID-19 infections. (Reuters)
EU: German import price inflation highest in 4 decades. Germany's import price inflation accelerated in July to its highest level in four decades, preliminary data from Destatis. The import price index climbed 15.0% YoY after a 12.9% increase in July. Economists had forecast an rise of 13.6%. The latest rise was the strongest since September 1971, when import prices rose 17.4%, Destatis said. (RTT)
EU: French consumer confidence holding up despite COVID curbs. French consumers were only marginally less confident about their economic prospects in August despite a surge in coronavirus cases and new rules requiring a health pass to enter many retail outlets, a monthly survey showed. The INSEE official statistics agency said its monthly consumer confidence index fell to 99 from 100 in July, just short of the average expectation for 100 in a Reuters poll of 10 economists. (Reuters)
UK: Firms most confident in four years, planning pay growth-Lloyds. British business confidence jumped to its highest level in more than four years in Aug and a measure of pay growth was the strongest since 2018, a survey published by Lloyds Bank. (Reuters)
Australia: Retail sales fall for second month. Australia's retail sales declined for a second straight month in July as some regions went into lockdown following new cases of coronavirus infections, preliminary data showed Friday. Retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 2.7% from June, when they dropped 1.8%, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. Economists had forecast a 2.3% slump. (RTT)
Kerjaya Prospek Property: Buys land from Asia Pac Holdings. Kerjaya Prospek Property is buying a parcel of leasehold land in Sungai Buloh from Asia Pac Holdings for RM42m cash, to acquire the land with a temporary building erected thereon. The land will serve as a landbank for Greencove’s property development activities, but the exact use of the land has not been determined at this juncture. (The Edge)
Ornapaper: Shuts another Melaka factory after workers test positive for Covid-19. Ornapaper has been ordered by the Ministry of Health to shut its factory in Melaka, after several employees tested positive for Covid-19. The factory will be closed till Sept 10 for sanitisation purposes. Other divisions and plants of the subsidiary are not affected. (The Edge)
MAHB: In final stage of assessing RM400m aerotrain bids. The tender to replace Kuala Lumpur International Airport's ageing aerotrains, estimated at RM400m, is at the final stage of evaluation process. MAHB had identified a final shortlist of bidders for KLIA's Automated People Mover (APM) tender after completing the technical evaluation stage. The tender was expected to be concluded over the next two months. (BTimes)
Apollo: Johor plant resumes ops after shutdown for Covid- 19 disinfection. Apollo Food Holdings announced that its Johor manufacturing facility has resumed operations after thorough disinfection was carried out. It had received notice from the Ministry of Health on Aug 26 to resume operations after it conducted thorough disinfection. The confectionary had been temporarily halted operations for 7 days until Aug 25. (The Edge)
Public Bank: 2Q net profit up 38%. Public Bank’s net profit for the 2Q ended June 30, 2021 jumped 38.2% to RM1.38bn from RM1bna year ago mainly due to the lower base effect in the previous corresponding quarter arising from one-off day 1 net modification loss on Covid-19 relief measures of RM498.4m and the negative effect of OPR reduction. Its revenue went up 3.8% to RM4.92bn. (SunBiz)
Rubberex: Nearly triples net profit in 2Q. Rubberex Corporation (M) almost tripled its net profit to RM64.66m in the 2Q2 ended June 30, 2021 from RM22.96m recorded in the same quarter a year ago. Despite signs of glove prices gradually easing in recent weeks, demand for gloves, specifically disposable gloves, was expected to remain persistent at the forefront of protection, safety and hygiene. (BTimes)
AEON: Swings to the black in 2Q, but earnings slump over 50% QoQ. AEON Co (M) posted a net profit of RM10.94m for the 2QFY21 compared with a net loss of RM9.56m a year ago, thanks to improvements in merchandise gross margin and in marketing mechanics. Revenue for the quarter fell 8.4% to RM874.2m due to closures of stores and malls as premises flagged as Covid-19 hotspots. (The Edge)
Oil & Gas (Overweight): Petronas plans RM40bn capex, RM25bn dividend to govt in FY2021. Petroliam Nasional (Petronas) sees its capital expenditure for the FY2021 to close at RM39bn to RM40bn compared to RM33bn in the last financial year. The national oil firm has invested RM12.7bn in the first half of the year, mainly attributed to upstream projects versus RM14.8bn in the same period a year earlier. (SunBiz)
The FBM KLCI might open higher today after US stocks and government bonds rallied in response to Federal Reserve chief Jay Powell cementing expectations that the central bank will begin a slow removal of its crisis-era stimulus measures later this year. The blue-chip S&P 500 index rose 0.9% on Friday following a speech by Powell at a virtual Jackson Hole summit of central bankers earlier in the day, notching a further high following a moderate dip lower on Thursday. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.2 %, also a record close, while big region wide and national European bourses all ended higher. Powell said the Fed had met the first of two goals it wanted to achieve, namely for average 2% inflation, before reducing its economic support. The second goal is for maximum employment, with him saying there was “clear progress”. However, Powell also warned against acting too hastily in response to elevated inflation, noting that such a move could be “particularly harmful” given the world’s largest economy was still fighting the effects of the pandemic. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 closed up 0.4%, with the continent-wide benchmark on track for its seventh consecutive month in the black. Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax was up 0.4%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.3% and the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.2 %.
Back home, the FBM KLCI rose 0.28% last Friday, its highest in almost three months, as the positive market sentiment continued to hold amid the temporary resolution to the political turmoil in recent weeks. At 5pm, the benchmark index gained 4.42 points or 0.28% to close at 1,590.16, after earlier touching an intraday high of 1,594.52. Regionally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.36%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.03%, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.17%.
Source: PublicInvest Research - 30 Aug 2021
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