Asian stocks looked set for modest gains on Friday amid a dollar retreat and after U.S. equities pared the worst of their losses. Treasuries edged higher. Futures in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia pointed higher. The S&P 500 dropped for a second day, though it found some support after bouncing off its 50-day moving average. Technology shares were the biggest decliners, with Apple, Facebook and Microsoft weighing on the Nasdaq Composite. Data showed the number of Americans applying for jobless benefits resumed its decline. Crude oil climbed above $40 a barrel.

Elsewhere, natural gas prices tumbled the most in almost two years after a bigger than expected increase in stockpiles revived concerns that the glut of the fuel will increase. Gilts climbed after the Bank of England policymakers said they were exploring negative rates.

Environmental protection solutions provider Sunpower Group said on Thursday that it has secured a manufacturing and services tender worth more than 150 million yuan (S$30.1 million) from energy and chemicals group Sinopec, a repeat customer. Under the tender, Sunpower will manufacture and supply two types of liquefied natural gas (LNG) vaporisers - Submerged Combustion Vaporisers and seawater Intermediate Fluid Vaporisers - for Sinopec's large LNG receiving terminal in Shandong province.

Malaysia's Top Glove Corporation said it planned to list in Hong Kong within six to nine months after "supernormal" demand for disposable gloves during the Covid-19 pandemic saw its quarterly profit skyrocket to a company record. Executive chairman Lim Wee Chai said the world's top disposable medical glove maker, which is already listed in Malaysia and Singapore, was in talks with bankers about the Hong Kong deal.

Property developer SLB Development said on Thursday that it has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Thye Hong Manufacturing for the acquisition of Thye Hong Centre at 2 Leng Kee Road, a freehold six-storey industrial building for S$112.5 million, exclusive of goods and services tax. SLB Development had on Aug 25 made an expression of interest to purchase the development.

Catalist-listed Figtree Holdings' wholly-owned subsidiary Figtree Real Estate will be acquiring a 27.5 per cent interest in DC Alliance for A$2.75 million (about S$2.74 million) in cash, making this its first strategic investment in a data centre. DC Alliance is a Singapore incorporated company that, through its wholly-owned subsidiary DCA 1, holds a 100 per cent interest in Pier DC, a Western Australian company that designs, builds and operates Tier-certified data centres in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.

Shares in Wilmar International rallied on Thursday morning, after the mainboard-listed agribusiness on Wednesday said its Chinese unit, Yihai Kerry Arawana (YKA), has received final registration approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission for its initial public offering (IPO). The listing of YKA on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's ChiNext Board is expected to take place by mid-October, Wilmar announced.

Eagle Hospitality Trust (EHT) has served "pay/perform or quit" statutory notices to its master lessees in US states which have those requirements. It means each master lessee is being made to pay the outstanding rent and/or perform the defaulted non-rent obligations within a deadline of between three and 15 days, according to the applicable state law. Otherwise, it will have to "peacefully vacate" and surrender the property, according to EHT's bourse filing on Wednesday night.

Source: SGX Masnet, The Business Times, Bloomberg, Channel NewsAsia, Reuters, PSR