US: Stocks fall as big earnings week kicks off. Dow member Caterpillar, an industrial company seen as a proxy for global growth, sank 9.1 per cent after projecting weaker-than-expected 2019 profits, in part due to slower sales in China. Chip company Nvidia also cited deteriorating macroeconomic conditions in China for denting consumer demand as a driver of lower profit and revenue outlook.

US charges Huawei in technology theft, sanctions violations. The department unveiled 13 charges against chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou - the daughter of the company's founder who is currently out on bail in Canada - and three affiliates related to violating US sanctions on Iran. In addition, 10 US federal charges were filed against two Huawei affiliates for stealing robot technology from T-Mobile.

Oil falls 3% on rising US production, economic slowdown fears. Oil fell about 3 per cent on Monday, its biggest one-day percentage drop in a month, after an increase in US crude drilling pointed to further supply growth amid continuing concerns about a global economic slowdown. Brent crude oil futures sank US$1.71, or 2.8 per cent, to settle at US$59.93 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude slumped US$1.70, or 3.2 per cent, to settle at US$51.99 a barrel.

SIIC inks deal for new wastewater treatment and constructed wetland project in Zhejiang, China. The project is located in Hangzhou Bay New Zone, Cixi City, Zhejiang Province, China. The Grade 1B-wastewater treatment facility has a total design capacity of 100,000 tonnes per day and the discharge standard of the constructed wetland is Grade 1A standard. The agreement is for a period of two years, with an option to extend for another year.

M1 Q4 net profit falls 21.4% on higher costs. Net profit fell to S$25.2 million for the three months to Dec 31, 2018, down 21.4 per cent on the previous year, even as operating revenue edged higher by 3.7 per cent to S$312.8 million, supported by handset and equipment sales. M1 attributed the damage to the bottom line to higher customer acquisition and retention costs, a rise in staff numbers as the corporate business expanded, and higher repair and maintenance expenses.

Vibrant subsidiary disposing of warehouse for 29m yuan. VIBRANT Group's wholly-owned subsidiary Sanlu Logistics is disposing of a 13,667 sq m warehouse property located in Jiangyin for 29 million yuan (S$5.5 million). Sanlu Logistics entered into an asset transfer agreement with the current lessor of the land that the property occupies. The cash consideration represents a gain on disposal of 1.3 million yuan.

Ascott Reit DPU up 5% in Q4 to 2.15 S cents. ASCOTT Residence Trust (Ascott Reit) saw distribution per unit (DPU) rise 5 per cent year on year from 2.04 Singapore cents to 2.15 cents in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2018, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Tuesday morning. This came as unitholders’ distribution went up 6 per cent to S$46.5 million in Q4 from the previous year, which included a one-off partial distribution of divestment gain of S$6.5 million.

Source: SGXNet