US: Labor market regaining footing as weekly jobless claims fall sharply. The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits dropped by the most in three months last week, suggesting the labor market recovery was regaining momentum after a recent slowdown, as the wave of COVID-19 infections began to subside. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits decreased 38,000 to a seasonally adjusted 326,000 for the week ended Oct. 2. That was the biggest drop since late June. Economists polled had forecast 348,000 claims for the latest week. Unadjusted claims, which economists say offer a better read of the labor market, tumbled 41,431 to 258,909 last week. California led the drop in claims last week. There were also decreases in Michigan, Ohio, Washington DC and Missouri. They offset notable increases in Pennsylvania and Virginia. (Reuters)
US: Fed's Mester says inflation mostly driven by pandemic-related factors. Both supply-side and demand-side factors are contributing to US inflation right now, but most of the current price changes may be driven by pandemic-related shifts that could subside over time, Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester said. Policymakers need to distinguish short-term inflationary pressures from inflation that could be longer-lasting when determining how to respond. An increase in medium- and long-term inflation expectations, paired with a continued rise in inflation, could be a sign that the price changes are being driven more by higher demand than policymakers anticipate. (Reuters)
EU: ECB's brain trust spars over inflation outlook. The European Central Bank’s two leading economic thinkers sparred over how likely it was for the recent, sharp rise in eurozone inflation to become permanent. Philip Lane and Isabel Schnabel, who led the economic debate on the ECB’s board, both repeated the ECB’s official line that the spike in price growth would ease next year as the effects of a post-pandemic bounce fade. But they differed sharply on the risks surrounding that prediction, with Schnabel warning of more persistent inflationary pressures and Lane of forces that could drag down price growth. It would be premature to assert that current price dynamics will fully subside next year. (Reuters)
EU: German industrial production slumps on supply chain disruption. German industrial output suffered its steepest drop in Aug since April last year, due to supply chain disruptions that are holding back growth in Europe's biggest economy and hitting the auto sector particularly hard, official data showed. The Federal Statistics Office said industrial output fell by 4.0% on the month after an increase of 1.3% in July. A poll had pointed to a decline in Aug of 0.4%. Manufacturers continue to report production constraints due to supply shortages of intermediate products. Production of cars and car parts fell by 17.5% on the month. German car companies are struggling to meet a post-pandemic surge in demand since the start of the year, due to a lack of microchips and other intermediate products. (Reuters)
EU: Italy retail sales growth slows in Aug. Italy's retail sales growth eased in Aug, data from the statistical office Istat showed. The retail sales value increased 1.9% MoM in Aug, after a 6.7% rise in July. In June, sales gained 7.9%. On a yearly basis, retail sales value rose a 0.4% in Aug, after a 0.3% drop in the previous month. Food sales gained 0.1% monthly in Aug and non-food product sales grew 0.7%. In volume terms, retail sales rose 0.4% on month in Aug, after a 0.6% decline in July. The annual growth eased to 1.0% from 8.9% a month ago. (RTT)
UK: House prices jump by most since 2007. British house prices rose by the most in almost 15 years in Sept ahead of the end of a tax break for house-buyers and they were expected to continue their climb to new record high levels, mortgage lender Halifax said. Prices rose by 1.7% from Aug, the biggest monthly increase since Feb 2007. In annual terms, house price growth also accelerated to 7.4% from 7.2% in Aug having slowed in each of the previous three months. Britain's housing market turned red hot after the lifting of the country's first coronavirus lockdown last year as people working more from home sought bigger properties and after finance minister Rishi Sunak cut a tax on home purchases. (RTT)
UK: Card spending recovers to 100% of pre-pandemic level. Spending on payment cards in Britain last week rose to 100% of its pre-pandemic level of Feb 2020, up from 95% a week earlier, data showed. Separate figures from the Office for National Statistics showed output-per-hour worked, a measure of productivity in the economy, inched up by 0.1% in the 2Q, leaving it 1.7% above its average level in 2019. Economists say productivity data are likely to be distorted by the effects of the pandemic. (Reuters)
China: Sept forex reserves fall to lowest since April. China’s foreign exchange reserves fell almost 1% in Sept from the previous month, official data showed, hitting their lowest level since April as the dollar gained ground against a basket of other major currencies. The country’s foreign exchange reserves stood at USD3.201trn at the end of Sept, data from the central bank’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed. That was lower than the USD3.225trn forecast in a poll of analysts and down from USD3.232trn at the end of Aug. The USD31.5bn MoM decline was the steepest since March. The dollar index climbed 1.7% in Sept, making the value of assets in other major currencies lower in dollar terms. Meanwhile, China held 62.64m fine troy ounces of gold at the end of Sept, unchanged from the previous month. (Reuters)
Axiata (Neutral, TP: RM4.00): Celcom, Microsoft introduces Celcom Business Suite to assist SMEs' digitalisation effort. Celcom Axiata and Microsoft Malaysia are reaching to digitalise Malaysian SMEs with the former's one-stop SME digital kit, Celcom Business Suite which offers a three-month waiver upon subscription and access to the best innovative applications by Microsoft. (BTimes)
Maybank (Outperform, TP: RM9.30): Invests in mRECs to offset carbon emissions. Maybank has signed a letter of intent with TNBX SB to purchase Malaysia Renewable Energy Certificates (mREC), to purchase the non-tangible energy commodities to support renewable energy generation. REC is a tradeable, market-based instrument that is produced for every 1 MWh of renewable energy generation delivered to the grid, together with all the associated environmental benefits of displacing 1 MWh of conventional power. (StarBiz)
OCR Group: The Pano by OCR hits over 86% sales rate. OCR Group's The Pano luxury service residences on Jalan Ipoh in Kuala Lumpur marked its topping-out ceremony. The project had achieved a sales rate of over 86%, en route to delivering its sky scape residences by the end of 1Q2022. (BTimes)
Ireka: Bags RM196m fibre-to-the-home job in Langkawi, says exploring fund-raising options to strengthen cash flow. Ireka Corp has bagged a two-year engineering contract worth RM196m for a 'Fibre-To-The-Home Connectivity Project' in Langkawi, Kedah. (The Edge)
Fast Energy: Signs solar deals. Fast Energy Holdings has entered into a solar power purchase agreement (SPPA) with Volta Energy SB, Apex Office Furniture Exporter SB and Apex Office Furniture SB (collectively Apex Group). The total contract value of the SPPA for the 25-year period was estimated at RM11.75m. (StarBiz)
Crest Builder Holdings: Wins RM192m condominium job from UEM Sunrise. Crest Builder Holdings has clinched a RM192m contract to build two blocks of condominium from Allevia SB. The project involved the construction of a 45-storey condominium (159 units) and a 40-storey condominium (135 units), with two levels of underground carpark and amenities. (BTimes)
Zelan: Auditor flags material uncertainty related to going concern. Zelan’s external auditor, Messrs Al Jafree Salihin Kuzaimi PLT, has expressed an unqualified opinion with material uncertainty related to going concern in its Independent Auditors’ Report in respect of the financial statements of the group for the financial year ended FY20. (SunBiz)
BIMB Holdings: Bank Islam to take over BIMB listing status on Bursa Malaysia effective Oct 8. BIMB Holdings will be delisted from the Main Market of Bursa Securities and Bank Islam will assume the listing status of BIMB with effect from 9am on Friday. (The Edge)
The FBM KLCI is likely to trade higher today after an overnight rally in US stocks as lawmakers reached a deal to increase the debt ceiling in the short-term. Washington’s race to reach an agreement on the debt ceiling has been an overhang for the market this week as investors hoped to avoid a government default. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 337.95 points, or roughly 1%, helped by gains in Visa, Nike and Home Depot. The S&P 500 rallied 0.8% and the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite jumped nearly 1.1%. Meanwhile, the pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up by 1.6%, with autos surging 3.2% to lead gains as all sectors and major bourses traded in positive territory. The UK’s FTSE, France’s CAC and Germany’s DAX rose 1.2%, 1.7% and 1.9% respectively. The strong session for Europe continues a trend of wild trading swings as sentiments were affected by the US treasury yields and inflationary concerns. Asian markets were mostly higher as the US looked set to avert a catastrophic debt default after Republicans offered a deal to raise the country’s borrowing limit. The Hang Seng Index and Singapore’s STI jumped, 3.1% and 0.6% respectively.
Back home, the FBM KLCI rose marginally by 0.2% or 1.87 points. On the news front, Maybank has signed a Letter of Intent with Tenaga Nasional 's wholly-owned subsidiary TNBX Sdn Bhd to purchase Malaysia Renewable Energy Certificates (mRECs), equivalent to 70% of its Malaysian operations' Scope 2 carbon emissions. This will make Maybank the first bank in Malaysia to purchase these non-tangible energy commodities to support renewable energy generation as part of its sustainability goals.
Source: PublicInvest Research - 8 Oct 2021
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MAYBANKCreated by PublicInvest | Mar 21, 2024