Energy

Brent crude was 1.56% higher to US$38.46 per barrel at 3.20pm.

Forex

Ringgit up 0.43% to 3.9065 versus the US dollar at 4.46pm.

Top foreign stories

Obama’s inversion curbs kill Pfizer’s US$160bil Allergan deal: US drug maker Pfizer Inc agreed on Tuesday to terminate its US$160 billion agreement to acquire Botox maker Allergan Plc, in a major victory to US President Barack Obama’s drive to stop tax-dodging corporate mergers. — Reuters

Airline hedges fuel rally in later dated oil prices: Big airlines are making waves in the oil market for the first time since prices went into a tailspin nearly two years ago, betting this may be their best chance to lock in cheap jet fuel for years to come, industry and market sources say. A number of airlines moved last week to place significant oil price hedges for 2017, 2018 and even 2019, said three trading sources familiar with money flows. — Reuters

China data to show exports, bank lending rising in March: China’s exports likely returned to growth for the first time in nine months in March while the pace of bank lending may have picked up, adding to signs that the world’s second-largest economy may be stabilising. — Reuters

China’s Anbang agrees to buy Allianz S. Korean life insurer: China’s Anbang Insurance Group has signed an agreement to buy Allianz’s South Korean life insurance unit for about 250 billion won (US$216 million), a South Korean newspaper reported on Wednesday. — Reuters

H&M first-quarter profit hit by markdowns and currency effects: Hennes & Mauritz, the world’s No. 2 clothes retailer, posted a 30% drop in first-quarter pre-tax profit on Wednesday due to markdowns and a stronger US dollar, although the results were slightly better than expected. Sales in March, the first month of H&M’s second quarter, grew 2% in local currencies. — Reuters

Top local stories

Malaysia’s February exports rebound, exceed forecast: Malaysia’s exports rose 6.7% in February, exceeding economists’ forecast of a 2.9% growth, underpinned by a double-digit growth in manufactured products. Imports increased 1.6% to RM49.37bil, beating expectations for a 1.5% decline. The trade surplus rose to RM7.35bil from RM4.55bil a year earlier and was up from RM5.39bil in January. — StarBiz

Top Glove submits plan to list on SGX: Top Glove Corp Bhd has submitted its application to the authorities for a secondary listing on the Main Board of Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd (SGX-ST). The world’s largest rubber glovemaker said its merchant bankers had on Wednesday submitted the application to the Securities Commission and Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd. — StarBiz

S&P affirms Sime ratings with negative outlook: Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its “BBB+” long-term corporate credit rating on Sime Darby Bhd with a negative outlook. It said on Wednesday it also affirmed the “BBB+” long-term issue rating on the senior unsecured notes under the conglomerate’s guaranteed medium-term notes programme. — StarBiz

Maybank Islamic optimistic of more revenue from Singapore: Maybank Islamic Bhd is confident its Islamic banking business in Singapore will contribute further to revenue in the future as the city-state’s central bank continues to promote the segment. — Bernama

Titijaya Land, The Ascott sign accord on property projects: Titijaya Land Bhd has signed an agreement with The Ascott Ltd for two of its property projects in Penang and Glenmarie, Shah Alam. Group deputy managing director Lim Poh Yit said the projects would have a combined gross development value (GDV) of RM4.1 billion. — Bernama

Bursa queries Microlink on sharp share price fall: Bursa Malaysia has queried Microlink Solutions Bhd after its share price fell sharply in recent days. At midday, it was unchanged at RM1.06, down from its March 29 high of RM1.55. — StarBiz

Halal show rakes in RM1b sales: The 13th Malaysia International Halal Showcase (Mihas 2016) raked in RM1.14 billion in total sales, up 4% from last year’s RM1.1 billion. — Bernama