MARKET ROUNDUP (Source Bloomberg)

U.S. Stocks Rise Amid Japan Stimulus, American Home Data; as the Bank of Japan increased its asset-purchase target and sales of existing American homes rose more than forecast. The S&P 500 added 0.1 percent to 1,461.05 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow advanced 13.32 points, or 0.1 percent, to 13,577.96. About 6.2 billion shares traded hands today, 3.4 percent more than the three-month daily average. The S&P 500 rallied 15 percent from its most-recent low on June 1 through Sept. 14, when it reached its highest level since December 2007. The index is trading at 14.1 times the estimated earnings of its companies, close to the highest price multiple since the end of 2010, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

European Stocks Climb as Japan Opts for Stimulus; after the Bank of Japan joined the Federal Reserve in opting for further asset purchases to support the economy and housing starts climbed in the U.S. Germany's DAX added 0.6 percent, France's CAC 40 gained 0.5 percent, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 0.4 percent.

Oil Trades Near Six-Week Low as Stockpiles Rise Most Since March; after stockpiles rose the most since March in the U.S., the world's biggest crude user. Oil for October delivery was at $91.78 a barrel, down 20 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 8:50 a.m. Sydney time. The contract, which expires today, slid $3.31 yesterday to $91.98, the lowest close since Aug. 3. The more-active November future was at $92.11 a barrel, down 19 cents. Frontmonth prices are 7 percent lower this year.

WCT leads race for RM700m job: has emerged as the front runner to secure a RM700 million contract to build a teaching hospital at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). This year, WCT surprised many when it won a RM331 million project in Sabah that involved, among others, the construction and completion of a nine-storey hospital with 200 beds.

AirAsia Expedia sees online purchase boom; The website offers Malaysian consumers various affordable flight deals and hotel options across the region and beyond with over 400 airlines, 150,000 hotels globally and holiday packages.

Btimes

Astro sets price range for RM4.56b IPO; a pay-TV firm, has set an indicative price range of RM2.70-RM3 per share for institutional investors for its initial public offering (IPO). The IPO, which is expected to be listed by end-September or early October, would be Malaysia's third-largest this year after share sales by Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd in June and IHH Healthcare Bhd in July.

RAM chooses 9 Malaysian companies among Asean's top 20: The local companies chosen were Axiata Group Bhd, DiGi.Com Bhd,Genting Bhd, IOI Corp Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Maxis Bhd,Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd, Sime Darby Bhd and Tenaga Nasional Bhd. Between 2008 and 2011, the revenue of the 20 featured companies charted a compounded annual growth rate of almost 13% while their mean margin on operating profit before interest and tax clocked in at close to 20%.

StarbIz



Source:Jupiter Securities Research, 20 September 2012