MARKET ROUNDUP (Source Bloomberg)

U.S. Stocks Drop Before Alcoa Report as IMF Cuts Forecast; sending the Standard & Poor's 500 Index lower for a third day, after the International Monetary Fund cut estimates for global growth and investors awaited quarterly results from Alcoa Inc. (AA). The S&P 500 declined 1 percent to 1,441.48 as of 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 110.12 points, or 0.8 percent, to 13,473.53. Volume for exchange-listed stocks in the U.S. was 5.8 billion shares, or about in line with the threemonth average.

European Stocks Retreat as EU Finance Ministers Meet; for a second day as the region's finance ministers gathered in Luxembourg to discuss the sovereign-debt crisis. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 slipped 0.5 percent, Germany's DAX lost 0.8 percent, while France's CAC 40 retreated 0.7 percent.

Oil Declines From One-Week High as Crude Stockpiles Seen Rising; before a government report that may show stockpiles climbed in the U.S., the world's biggest crude user. Crude for November delivery decreased as much as 47 cents to $91.92 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $91.97 at 10:10 a.m. Sydney time. The contract gained 3.4 percent yesterday to $92.39, the highest close since Oct. 1. Prices are down 6.9 percent this year.


CORPORATE NEWS

Two IPPs get 10-year extension; TNB to build Prai plant-The energy sector saw major announcements yesterday as the Energy Commission (EC) announced the extension of firstgeneration independent power producers' (IPPs) power purchase agreements (PPAs) and also awarded Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) a contract to build and operate a RM3bil combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) Prai power plant.

RM93mil TM cable contract for Opcom; Opcom Holdings Bhd has been awarded an RM92.5mil contract from Telekom Malaysia Bhd to supply and deliver single mode optical fibre cables and other cables. The contract is for three years from Sept 28, 2012 till Sept 27, 2015.

StarbIz


Latexx surges on news of Semperit offer; Latexx Partners Bhd's shares jumped the most in almost four years after Austrian firm Semperit AG Holdings offered RM603 million to buy up the Perak-based glovemaker. Yesterday, Latexx shares on Bursa Malaysia surged 26 per cent to close at RM2.25.

Sunway REIT Management buys assets for RM310m; Sunway REIT Management Sdn Bhd, the management of Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust (Sunway REIT), has agreed to buy the Sunway Medical Centre building and the land it stands on for RM310 million. The deal will see Sunway REIT strengthening its position as the largest REIT by asset value from RM4.63 billion to more than RM4.9 billion.

Btimes


Source:Jupiter Securities Research, 10 October 2012