MarketWrap: The S&P 500 ended modestly weaker on Wednesday, holding losses after minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting kept alive a potential near-term interest rate hike, while DuPont shares helped the Dow close at an all-time high for a ninth straight session. - Reuters

The DJIA rose 32.6 points, or 0.16%, to 20,775.6, the S&P 500 lost 2.56 points, or 0.11%, to 2,362.82 and the Nasdaq dropped 5.32 points, or 0.09%, to 5,860.63.

Energy

Oil prices fell more than 1% on Wednesday on expectations of another surge in US inventories, retreating from multi-week highs hit in the previous session after Opec signalled optimism over its deal with other producers to curb output. Brent crude LCOc1 ended 82 cents, or 1.5%, lower at US$55.84 a barrel, having touched its highest since Feb 2 at US$57.31 in the previous session. - Reuters

Top foreign stories

HP Inc reports 3.6% rise in quarterly revenue: HP Inc, which houses the hardware business of former Hewlett-Packard Co, reported a 3.6 rise in quarterly revenue to US$12.68 billion, largely helped by a stabilising PC market. The company's net earnings from continuing operations fell to US$611 million in the first quarter ended Jan. 31, from US$650 million a year earlier.- Reuters

Peugeot sets sales and savings goals for Opel deal: French carmaker PSA Group expects its planned acquisition of General Motors' Opel division to lead to combined sales of 5 million vehicles by 2022 and save as much as 2 billion euros (US$2.1 billion) annually, sources said, adding that a deal could be finalised in early March. - Reuters

Oil executives: China state firm in preliminary deal to buy Chevron's Bangladesh gas fields: China's state-run Zhenhua Oil has signed a preliminary deal with Chevron to buy the US oil major's natural gas fields in Bangladesh that are worth about US$2 billion, two Beijing-based Chinese oil executives said. A completed deal would mark China's first major energy investment in the South Asian country. - Reuters

Federal Reserve minutes point to rate hike 'fairly soon’: Many Federal Reserve policymakers said it may be appropriate to raise interest rates again "fairly soon" should jobs and inflation data come in line with expectations, according to the minutes of the Fed's last policy meeting released on Wednesday. - Reuters

Top local stories

Telekom Malaysia posts record revenue of RM12b for FY16: Telekom Malaysia Bhd posted a RM12bil revenue in 2016, its highest ever, led by strong demand and lower operating costs. And it expects revenue to increase by 3.5% to 4% in 2017. Its net profit though fell nearly 20% to RM154mil in the fourth quarter. For the full 2016 financial year, Telekom reported a 10% rise in net profit to RM776mil. It declared a dividend of 12.2 sen per share, bringing the total for the year to 21.5 sen. - StarBiz

Petronas, Saudi Aramco may sign new deal on Rapid: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) and Saudi Aramco are expected to sign an agreement to collaborate in the country’s Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project, two industry sources said. The signing is expected to take place on Monday, said one of the sources, during a visit by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to Malaysia. - Reuters

AirAsia X posts record annual profit despite forex hit: AirAsia X Bhd reported a record profit in 2016 as more people took to the skies, but results fell short of analysts’ estimates. For the full year, profits came in at RM230.5mil, versus an average expectation for RM236mil. Revenue rose 39% to RM1.17bil. For the fourth quarter, it posted a net profit of RM39mil, down RM197.4mil recorded a year earlier. - Reuters

SapKen unit signs RM6.7b financing facilities: SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd (SapKen) unit, SapuraKencana TMC Sdn Bhd, has secured a seven-year multi-currency financing facility of about US$1.5bil (RM6.68bil) from a consortium of Malaysian, regional and international banks. - StarBiz

Hong Leong Bank on track to meet full-year targets: Analysts say Hong Leong Bank Bhd’s performance thus far was indication that it would likely achieve its key performance indicators target for the current year. - StarBiz

Higher credit cost hits AFG third-quarter earnings: Alliance Financial Group Bhd (AFG) posted a lower net profit of RM129.68mil in the third, on higher credit cost due to larger impairment provisions. Its revenue was up 4.8% to RM378.64mil. - StarBiz

UOA Development net profit rises 211% to RM346m: UOA Development Bhd’s net profit for the fourth quarter rose 211% to RM345.98mil due to fair value gains recognised on investment properties. Its revenue almost halved to RM270.64mil from RM511.6mil before, mainly to progressive recognition from the sales of ongoing development projects. - StarBiz

Sumatec to ramp up production at Kazakh field: Sumatec Resources Bhd to ramp up the production of its Rakushechnoye oil and gas field in Kazakhstan, in a three-year development plan, towards optimal production of about 2,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Sumatec currently extracts about 500 barrels of oil per day from the field. - StarBiz

MSM revenue up on better selling price: MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd’s revenue rose 26% to RM838.31mil in the fourth quarter on improved selling price and higher volume of refined sugar sold, as well as better trading revenue. Its net profit fell to RM14.39mil, due to higher raw material costs and weakening ringgit. - StarBiz

LTAT posts higher FY16 profit: Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT)’s unaudited profit improved to RM811mil for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2016 compared with RM766.8mil in 2015. - StarBiz

Econpile bags RM570m job from Malton, posts record Q2 earnings:  Econpile Holdings Bhd has clinched what it says is the group’s single-largest contract to date, worth RM570.4 million, for works at the Pavilion Damansara Heights development. Separately, Econpile said it posted a record second-quarter profit of RM21.36 million, up 29%, on a revenue that climbed 34% to RM147.87 million. - Edge FD

SapuraKencana inks US$1.5b refinancing deal: SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd has signed a seven-year multi-currency financing facilities of about US$1.5 billion (RM6.69 billion) equivalent with a consortium of Malaysian, regional and international banks. It said the funds will be used to partially refinance its borrowings. - Edge FD

YTL Power takes up 51% stake in UK-based water provider Waterlevel: YTL Power International Bhd’s indirect subsidiary, UK-based Wessex Water Ltd, has acquired a 51% stake in Waterlevel Ltd for £227,505.21 (RM1.26 billion). Waterlevel is a licensed water supplier that provides retail water, wastewater, drainage and wider environmental services. - Edge FD

Genting Singapore returns to the black in Q4 on lower expenses: Genting Singapore swung back to the black in the fourth quarter of 2016, with earnings of S$159.2 million (RM500.24 million), from a loss of S$7.8 million a year ago, on lower expenses and impairment on trade receivables. Revenue grew 2% to S$557.7 million. - Edge FD

...

Full Article on TheStar