HEADLINES

Economy

US: Fed minutes suggest officials still not ready to begin cutting interest rates. The Federal Reserve released the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting, revealing officials are still not prepared to begin cutting interest rates. The minutes of the June 11-12 meeting said participants noted that progress in reducing inflation toward the Fed's 2 percent target had been slower this year than they had expected last Dec. "They emphasized that they did not expect that it would be appropriate to lower the target range for the federal funds rate until additional information had emerged to give them greater confidence that inflation was moving sustainably toward the Committee's 2 percent objective," the Fed said. (RTT)

US: Companies added 150,000 jobs in June while wage growth cooled. US companies added workers at a more moderate pace in June and wage growth cooled, consistent with a gradual cooling in labour demand. Private payrolls increased 150,000 last month, largely reflecting an increase in job gains within leisure and hospitality, according to the ADP Research Institute. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 165,000 increase. (Bloomberg)

EU: Private sector growth cools to 3-month low. Euro area private sector expanded at the end of the second quarter but the growth lost momentum due to the softening demand and weaker sales, final results of the HCOB Purchasing Managers' survey, compiled by S&P Global, showed. The composite output index registered 50.9 in June, down from 52.2 in the previous month. The score was slightly above the flash score of 50.8. (RTT)

UK: Services activity expands least in 7 months. The UK service sector's growth moderated further in June to the lowest level in seven months amid softer demand conditions ahead of the upcoming general election, final survey data from S&P Global showed. The S&P Global Services Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to 52.1 in June from 52.9 in the previous month. The flash score was 51.2. The reading remained above the threshold of 50.0 for the eighth straight month. (RTT)

China: Services PMI slows in June – Caixin. The services sector in China continued to expand in June, although at a slower pace, the latest survey from Caixin showed with a service PMI score of 51.2. That's down from 54.0 in May, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Central to the latest expansion in services activity was rising new business inflows. Incoming new business increased again in June, extending the sequence of growth to one-and-a-half years. (RTT)

Singapore: Private sector picks up steam in June - S&P Global. The private sector in Singapore continued to expand, and at a faster rate, the latest survey from S&P Global showed with a PMI score of 55.2. That's up from 54.2 and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Supporting the latest uptick in the headline PMI index were improvements across measures of output, new orders, employment and suppliers' delivery times. Business activity expanded at the fastest pace in 20 months amidst a sharp uptick in new business. (RTT)

Markets

Minetech: Secures RM16.1m contract for KL road, drainage upgrading work. Minetech Resources has secured a contract to undertake the proposed upgrading and construction of an external road and drainage system for a subsidiary of Mah Sing Group in Mukim Batu, Kuala Lumpur, for RM16.10m. The project, awarded by MyVilla Development SB through its wholly owned subsidiary Minetech Construction SB, will be executed in two phases, and is expected to be completed within 21 months from the commencement date, the group said in a bourse filing. (The Edge)

Mah Sing: Plans RM1bn project on Taman Desa land it buys for RM108m. Mah Sing Group is acquiring land in Taman Desa, Kuala Lumpur for RM108m which will be developed into serviced apartments and residential units. The planned development is estimated to have a gross development value of RM1.01bn. Mah Sing plans to develop the land in two phases, the first being 1,600 serviced apartments spread over 3.7 acres dubbed as M Aspira and the second phase, Residensi Madani, under the affordable housing programme, will offer around 800 units on a 2.47-acre plot. (The Edge)

Jati Tinggi: Gets RM20m cable-laying job. Jati Tinggi Group has accepted a letter of award from Worktime Engineering SB to lay 33 kilovolts of underground cables and accessories in the southern region of Malaysia for RM20.05m. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, JTGB said the scope of works would include the erection of power cables, fibre optic cables, joint and termination works together with all ancillary works. (StarBiz)

MYEG: Team up with Credit Bureau Malaysia for self-check credit reports. My E.G. Services (MYEG) has entered into a collaboration agreement with Credit Bureau Malaysia SB (CBM) to offer a self-check service for individual credit reports with CBM via CBM’s MySCoRE that will be made accessible through the MYEG portal. In a statement, MYEG said this will be facilitated by integrating CBM’s MySCoRE on the MYEG portal, offering users an additional avenue to easily and conveniently access and review their credit reports and scores. (SunBiz)

YLI: Acquires 80% stake in Damini Corp for RM10m. YLI Holdings has proposed to acquire 80% equity interest in Damini Corporation SB for a purchase consideration of RM10m. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, YLI said it entered into a conditional share sale agreement with Bumiraya Armani SB for the proposed acquisition of four million ordinary shares, representing 80% equity interest in Damini. The purchase consideration will be satisfied via a combination of cash of RM3.5m and the issuance of 10m new ordinary shares in YLI at an issue price of 65 sen per share. (SunBiz)

Naim Holdings: To dispose of land in Sarawak for RM223.38m. Naim Holdings is disposing of 180.8 hectares of land at Sungai Sajiram/Sungai Kuap, Sungai Merdang, Samarahan, Sarawak to Onlyee Flora SB for RM223.38m. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Naim said the proposed disposal forms part of the group’s ongoing commitment to ensure long-term sustainability in its business operations in a tight property market, dominated by substantial unsold properties as reported by the National Property Information Centre. (SunBiz)

MARKET UPDATE

US stocks ended mostly higher overnight as investors looked past relatively weaker economic data ahead of June’s all-important jobs data due out on Friday. A reading of service sector activity was considerably weaker than expected and indicated a contraction, according to the Institute for Supply Management. Trading volume was muted, with the market also closing early at 1pm ahead of the Independence Day holiday on Thursday (4 July). Mega-cap technology names like Tesla (+6.5%) and Nvidia (+4.6%) rallied, helping the Nasdaq Composite finish 0.9% higher on the day. The broader-based S&P 500 rose 0.5% though the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1%. European markets also ended higher though sentiment remains on edge ahead of two major elections on the continent. The UK heads to the polls for national parliamentary elections on Thursday followed by France on Sunday. Both countries’ benchmarks gained 0.6% and 1.2% respectively. Germany’s DAX was 1.2% higher. Asian markets were mostly higher overnight after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell noted there was progress in taming inflationary pressures which raised hopes that rate cuts were happening sooner than later. Investors also assessed economic data from the region, which amongst others, showed a decrease in Japanese private sector activity for the first time in seven months, China’s services sector expanding for the 18th consecutive month and India’s private sector activity expanding much faster last month. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.3% and 1.2% respectively. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.5% however.

Source: PublicInvest Research - 4 Jul 2024