MARKET ROUNDUP (Source Bloomberg)

S&P 500 Has Longest Slump in 7 Weeks on European Crisis; as European leaders clashed on ways to stem the debt crisis and data from China and Germany signaled the slowdown is deepening. The S&P 500 (SPX) dropped 0.2 percent to 1,456.89 at 4 p.m. New York time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 20.55 points, or 0.2 percent, to 13,558.92 for its second straight decline. Volume for exchange-listed stocks in the U.S. was 5.5 billion shares today, or 7.5 percent below the threemonth average.

European Stocks Drop Amid Banking-Union Disagreement; as Germany and France disagreed on when to introduce a banking union for the euro area and a report added to concern about the strength of China's economy. Germany's DAX slipped 0.5 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 retreated 0.2 percent. France's CAC 40 dropped 1 percent.

Oil Trades Near Two-Day Low as U.S. Stockpiles Seen Increasing; before a report that may show inventories climbed for a third week in the U.S., the world's biggest crude consumer. Oil for November delivery was at $92.05 a barrel, up 12 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 8:54 a.m. Sydney time. The contract fell 96 cents to $91.93 yesterday, the lowest close since Sept. 20. Front-month prices are down 6.9 percent this year.

CORPORATE NEWS

Abu Sahid owns big Scomi stake; Maju Group executive chairman Tan Sri Abu Sahid Mohamed has emerged as a substantial shareholder in oil and gas outfit Scomi Group Bhd with a 8.75% stake.

Masteel hat-trick?; is optimistic about achieving a third straight year of record revenue in 2012 due to anticipated higher sales of long steel products in the regional and domestic markets. The integrated long steel manufacturer achieved record revenue of RM1.25bil last year after posting RM1bil in 2010.

StarbIz


IJM said buying stake in Scomi; CONSTRUCTION specialist IJM Corp Bhd is believed to be buying a strategic stake in Scomi Group Bhd, giving it access to the lucrative oil and gas sector. Scomi is one of the world's leading providers of oilfield drilling fluids solutions and drilling waste management services. It is also a leading supplier of monorail projects through its Scomi Rail subsidiary. Listed companies under the Scomi Group are Scomi Marine Bhd and Scomi Engineering Bhd.

Sapura Kencana Q2 revenue hits RM2.06b; Overall, for the first half of the year ended December 31 2012, the group revenue has more than doubled to RM2.74 billion compared with RM1.25 billion in the first half of the previous year. The higher revenue was mainly due to the merger of SapuraCrest and Kencana, but profit after tax was only slightly higher at RM269.38 million in the first half of this year, compared with RM220.31 million previously.

Btimes


Source:Jupiter Securities Research, 25 September 2012