MARKET ROUNDUP (Source Bloomberg)

U.S. Stocks Rally To Give Dow Best Month Since October: amid optimism an agreement by European leaders on banks will help contain the region's debt crisis. The S&P 500 advanced 2 percent to 1,362.16 during the week, extending its increase in June to 4 percent, the most since February. The Dow gained 239.31 points, or 1.9 percent, to 12,880.09 for the week, finishing the month up 3.9 percent.

European Stocks Climb For A Fourth Week On EU Agreement: as the region's leaders agreed to address flaws in their bailout programs to ease the sovereign-debt crisis. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 increased 1 percent, France's CAC 40 rose 3.4 percent and Germany's DAX added 2.4 percent.

Oil Surges Most In More Than A Year On European Agreement: on optimism that Europe's debt crisis may be contained after leaders agreed to ease repayment rules for emergency loans to Spanish banks and relax conditions on help
for Italy. Oil for August delivery gained $7.27 to settle at $84.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the biggest increase since March 12, 2009, when the market surged 11 percent on speculation OPEC would cut output
targets. Prices are down 14 percent this year and have dropped 18 percent this quarter.

CORPORATE NEWS

EPMB keen to acquire MEX despite no govt nod: On June 13, the Prime Minister's Department told Parliament that no permission had been given for the deal due to several policy matters related to the highway concession that must be studied by the government. The proposed RM1.7 billion deal, which was first announced on March 16, has come under heavy criticism including from former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who claimed that the concessionaire had profited from government assistance, and questioned its fairness. The government had provided a grant of nearly RM1 billion towards the cost of the highway construction.

SunBiz

AirAsia has LCCT backup plan: will likely shift to its other hubs in Malaysia should the budget carrier decide not to move to the new low-cost carrier terminal, KLIA2. Besides Kuala Lumpur, the budget carrier has hubs in Sabah (Kota Kinabalu International Airport), Sarawak (Kuching International Airport), Johor (Senai International Airport), Penang (Penang International Airport) as well as a virtual hub in Singapore (Changi International Airport).

Celcom's broad plan to clinch top position: Over the past six years, Celcom, a wholly-owned unit of Axiata Group Bhd, remains as the only mobile operator that registered revenue growth every quarter - even at a time when the industry was hit by the global economic slowdown and it was experiencing a decline in voice revenue. As at March 31, 2012, it posted its 24th consecutive quarters of growth.

Btimes

PTP investing RM1.4bil to make Port of Tanjung Pelepas more competitive: over the next three years in new cranes, electrifying existing rubber-tyred gantries (RTGs) and building new berths. PTP along with six other international ports (Felixstowe, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, Yantian, Shanghai and Ningbo) selected by Maersk Line for their 'Daily Maersk' programme will have to build new cranes in order to accommodate these vessels.

Muhibbah's worst-case scenario: he worst-case scenario for Muhibbah Engineering Bhd, should it not be paid the RM399.5mil owed to it by Asia Petroleum Hub Sdn Bhd (APH), is that it would simply be a provision for bad debt in its books. Reputable engineering firm Muhibbah found itself mired in the
middle of the APH saga when the project reached a stumbling block back in 2009. Muhibbah was appointed contractor for the terminal and piling works for the RM1.4bil proposed storage and bunkering facility promoted by APH during the administration of former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

StarBiz


Source:Jupiter Securities Research 02 June 2012