Asian stocks looked poised for declines after U.S. technology giants dragged Wall Street benchmarks lower amid dimming prospects for fresh stimulus. The pound fell amid a stalemate in Brexit negotiations.

Futures pointed lower in Japan and Hong Kong, while Australian shares dipped. S&P contracts were little changed in early Asia trading after the gauge slid from a record, and the Nasdaq 100 had its biggest slump in a month. Facebook Inc. sank after being sued by U.S. antitrust officials, while Tesla Inc. tumbled. The dollar edged up, while gold held its losses. Treasury yields ticked higher.

Top Glove Corporation posted net profit of RM2.38 billion (S$781.5 million) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021 ended November, some 20 times higher than RM111.4 million for the corresponding quarter last year. As a result, the group's earnings per share increased to 29.64 sen from 1.5 sen last year, the group reported in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. Revenue for the quarter more than trebled to a record RM4.76 billion from RM1.21 billion in the year ago period. Sales volume also increased by 34 per cent from the previous year. In light of its strong financials, Top Glove is looking to reward some 100,000 public shareholders with quarterly dividend payments for FY2021, with higher payments incorporating a special dividend of 6 per cent.

Nanotechnology solutions provider Nanofilm Technologies International, which made its trading debut on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in October, will be included in the FTSE ST Small-Cap Index, FTSE ST China Index and FTSE ST Singapore Shariah Index after the close of market trading on Dec 21.

Indonesian water-treatment company Moya Holdings Asia posted a post-tax profit of S$11.9 million for Q3 2020, nearly three times the S$4.24 million earned in the corresponding quarter a year ago. Revenue for the third quarter was 15 per cent higher year-on-year at S$59.65 million, owing to the consolidation of the profit and loss of Obor Infrastructure and its subsidiaries into the group's financial statements from March 19, 2020. Earnings per share improved to 0.27 Singapore cent for Q3 2020, from 0.1 Singapore cent a year ago.

mm2 Asia has entered into a heads of agreement with Orange Sky Golden Harvest Entertainment (Holdings) (OSGH), proposing to merge its cinema business with Golden Village cinemas. Through its unit mm CONNECT, mm2 Asia owns eight cinemas in Singapore under the Cathay brand, and 14 cinemas in Malaysia under the Cathay Cineplexes Malaysia, Mega Cinemas and Lotus Fivestar brands. mm CONNECT also owns a movie film distribution business and an online streaming business. OSGH has 14 cinemas in Singapore under the Golden Village banner. The move will make the enlarged business the biggest cinema operator in Singapore, delivering economies of scale; it will also provide greater financial and operating stability, given headwinds faced by cinema operators due to the pandemic, said mm2 Asia.

Chinese detergent maker Blue Moon Group Holdings has become the latest in a record number of companies to raise at least US$1 billion in a Hong Kong IPO in 2020 after pricing its shares at HK$13.16, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The price was at the top of the range flagged by the company when the deal launched last Friday and means Blue Moon will raise US$1.27 billion.

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