Breakfast briefing: Wednesday, January 13

Market wrap: A late rebound in energy and biotech shares helped push the S&P 500 to a second straight day of gains on Tuesday, while Apple and other technology shares also boosted the market. The Nasdaq snapped an eight-session losing streak, with the Nasdaq Biotech Index rebounding late, also breaking an eight-day run of losses. - Reuters

The DJIA was up 117.65 points, or 0.72%, to 16,516.22, the S&P 500 gained 15.01 points, or 0.78%, to 1,938.68 and the Nasdaq added 47.93 points, or 1.03%, to 4,685.92.

Forex summary

*The ringgit gained 0.43% to 4.3950 per US$

*It rose 0.95% to 4.7586 per euro

*Up 1.09% to 6.3401 to the pound sterling

*0.30% higher to 3.0551 per Singapore dollar

*0.07% lower to 3.0731 per Aussie

*Up 0.74% to 3.7238 per 100 yen

Energy

Oil fell briefly below the widely watched US$30-per-barrel level on Tuesday, extending a selloff that has sliced almost 20% off prices this year amid deepening concerns about fragile Chinese demand and the absence of output restraint. Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 fell 69 cents settle at US$30.86, after bottoming at US$30.34. - Reuters

Top foreign stories

Fed's Lacker: China not affecting fundamentals of US economy: Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker said on Tuesday that the economies of the United States and China are linked less than recent volatility in US equity markets seem to imply. He said the US stock market's heightened volatility last summer following China's stock market woes and a devaluation in the yuan "in hindsight looks like an overreaction... the same thing is the case now." - Reuters

Pfizer, Allergan say combined drug pipeline 'under appreciated': The research chiefs of betrothed drugmakers Pfizer Inc and Allergan say the proposed combination of their experimental drugs deserves more credit, including potential blockbuster treatments for schizophrenia and depression. Pfizer agreed in November to buy Botox-maker Allergan for US$160 billion. - Reuters

Icahn says he does not have any position in Time Warner: Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn said on Tuesday he did own any stake in media company Time Warner Inc. "I have no position in Time Warner. No options, no forwards, no stock," Icahn said when reached by phone. - Reuters

MetLife plans to split off US retail business: MetLife Inc, the largest U.S. life insurer, plans to separate a substantial portion of its US retail business from the core company, saying on Tuesday that the "regulatory environment" helped drive its decision. MetLife is considering various approaches for splitting off the retail business, including an initial public offering, a spinoff or a sale. - Reuters

Bewkes against HBO spinoff, open to Time Warner sale: Time Warner Inc chief executive Jeff Bewkes is against a sale or a spinoff of premium cable channel HBO, but hinted he would be open to a sale of the whole company, the New York Post reported, citing sources. Bewkes told investors in a series of closed-door meetings on Monday that splitting units HBO or the Turner Broadcasting cable-TV business wouldn't make sense, the Post reported on Tuesday. - Reuters

Top local stories

New rail link in the offing: A new double-track rail line linking Mentakab to Kuantan in Pahang is being planned and it will be entirely financed by the private sector. An entity from China has expressed interest to undertake the project, a source said. The general rule of thumb for constructing a new rail line is RM40mil to RM60mil per km. This means it may cost around RM5bil or more to build the Mentakab-Kuantan track. - StarBiz

Benalec gets DoE nod for reclamation job: Benalec Holdings Bhd has received the Department of Environment’s (DoE) conditional approval for the reclamation works on 677.2ha in Teluk Ramunia for the development of Pengerang maritime industrial park. - StarBiz

Uncertainties to bog down bond market: The bond market is in for a wild ride in 2016. Analysts said the immediate-term performance of the domestic bond market was expected to mirror the trend set last year, with cautious assessment of economic prospects and the collective weighing-in of domestic and global uncertainty by both issuers and investors. - StarBiz

Silverlake cleared of dubious deals: An independent review by Deloitte Singapore has cleared software solutions provider Silverlake Axis Ltd and its founder Goh Peng Ooi of allegations of dubious business deals. - StarBiz

Tropicana unit selling land for RM55m: Tropicana Corp Bhd unit Advent Nexus Sdn Bhd is selling its freehold land in Jalan Pudu, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, to real estate company Pinnacle Supreme Sdn Bhd for RM55mil cash. Tropicana said the 11,904-sq-ft land comprised a 41⁄2-years-old, 10-storey Sky Express Hotel. - StarBiz

MCIL in preliminary talks for magazine unit sale: Publishing conglomerate Media Chinese International Ltd (MCIL) said it is in preliminary talks with a potential investor for the possible sale of its magazine subsidiary. MCIL said there was no guarantee that a deal would materialise. - StarBiz

Petronas sees more tough years: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) said crude prices could average US$$30 a barrel this year and warned that the state oil company faces two to three tough years. Just two months after the company was assuming an average price of US$48 a barrel, chief executive officer Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin laid out the new “low-price” scenario for 2016. - Bloomberg

* The next probable downside for crude oil to look for would be the US$25 to US$25.20 band and based on the historical chart, crude oil prices did enjoy some degree of support at this level in the past. - StarBiz

MAHB: Passenger traffic hit 112 million in 2015: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) saw its passenger movements grew to 112 million last year, a 4.7% increase from 2014 due to growth in domestic traffic. - StarBiz

AirAsia X optimistic of turnaround: Long-haul low-cost airline, AirAsia X Bhd, is confident of returning to the black in the current financial year ending Dec 31, given its new capacity management, said group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes. - Bernama

Residential property value to drop in 2016: CH Williams Talhar & Wong managing director Foo Gee Jen said he expected to see a drop in residential property value and transaction volume this year compared with 2015. “Going into 2016, we see headwinds and home buyers will remain cautious. There is also uncertainty in the job market, which will be a deterrent,” he said at the launch of the firm’s 2016 Property Market report on Wednesday. - StarBiz

Maybank sees CPO price hitting RM2,700:  Crude palm oil (CPO) could trend higher in early 2016 and peak sometime in March to May 2016 with the possibility of hitting RM2,700 per tonne, according to Maybank Investment Bank research. It, however, was cautious about the commodity’s price towards August 2016, anticipating sharp price correction in view of seasonally peak output period. - StarBiz

Scanwolf reinstates executive powers of ED and FC: Scanwolf Corp Bhd announced on Tuesday it has reinstated the executive powers of executive director Datuk Tan Sin Keat and financial controller Ng Chee Wai, following their suspensions in June last year. - Edge FD

Celcom Axiata expects horizontal growth for telco industry in 2016: Celcom Axiata Bhd expects horizontal growth for the telecommunications (telco) industry in 2016, as the Malaysian market will see a saturation of over 143% in mobile penetration and growing competition. - Edge FD

AGMs/EGMs

CN Asia Corporation Bhd

Time: 10am

Venue: The Conference Room of CN Asia Corporation Bhd Lot 7907, Batu 11, Jalan Balakong, Seri Kembangan, Selangor.

* CN Asia Corp seeks shareholder to replace its auditors SJ Grant Thornton with Kreston John & Gan.

Astral Supreme Bhd

Time: 9am

Venue: Inspire I & II, Food Tree Café (under Only World Group) No. 10, Jalan Pelukis U1/46 Kawasan Perindustrian Temasya, Shah Alam, Selangor

* Astral Supreme seeks shareholder approval for its proposed diversification principal activities of the company and its subsidiaries to include construction, property development and property investment;

* Proposed award of subcontract for the RM38.5 million program perumahan rakyat project in Tawau, Sabah, by Astral Supreme Contruction Sdn Bhd from Wira Syukur (M) Sdn Bhd.