Global traders are bracing for what’s shaping up to be one of the most anticipated opens for U.S. equities in months following an extraordinary $20 billion wave of block trades Friday that rattled investors worldwide and overshadowed a record close on Wall Street. Asian markets will provide a gauge of the mood: Equity futures pointed higher in Japan and Australia, but questions remain about whether more block trades may be coming. The family office of former Tiger Management trader Bill Hwang, Archegos Capital Management, was behind the sales, according to two people directly familiar with the trades. Shares of Chinese tech giants and U.S. media conglomerates got dumped. Treasuries will be in focus mid-week with the expiry of a regulatory exemption for banks that’s helped prop up the Treasury market since last year’s pandemic panic.

SG

Wealth management fintech platform iFast Corporation's wholly-owned Malaysian unit, iFast Capital Sdn Bhd, has announced the launch of its stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) brokerage services on FSMOne.com in Malaysia. The new range of services allows iFast Capital to provide its wealth management solutions under one platform.

TPG Capital Asia has picked banks to help prepare an initial public offering (IPO) of its pathology business in the region that could raise as much as S$800 million in Singapore, according to sources. The private equity firm is working with Citigroup and CIMB Group Holdings on the planned first-time share sale of Pathology Asia Holdings, said the people. A listing in the city-state could take place as soon as the end of this year, according to the people.

Following a transfer of a two-thirds ownership in Chinese conglomerate Tianjin Pharmaceutical Holdings (TPH) to a third party, a "chain offer" for the remaining shares of Tianjin Zhong Xin Pharmaceutical Group on both the Singapore and Shanghai bourses that are not held by offeror Tianjin Pharmaceutical Singapore International Investment and TPH has been triggered.

Nanofilm Technologies had been included into the FTSE ST Large & Mid Cap Index and the FTSE ST Mid Cap Index with effect from March 22, 2021. This follows the company's inclusion in the FTSE ST China Index and FTSE ST Shariah Index on Dec 21, 2020.

US

Victoria’s Secret-owner L Brands raised its profit outlook for the first quarter on Friday, citing a boost from government stimulus and from loosened Covid-related restrictions. Its stock jumped more than 5.5% in early trading. The company now expects an adjusted profit of 85 cents to $1 per share, compared with its previous forecast of 55 cents to 65 cents. L Brands, which also owns Bath & Body Works, said it has seen “unusual shifts in consumer spending patterns,” which have led to boosted sales.

Darden Restaurants Inc. DRI, shares rose 4.2% on Thursday premarket trading after the Olive Garden parent reported fiscal third-quarter earnings and sales that beat the Street. Net income totalled $128.7 million, or 98 cents per share, down from $232.3 million, or $1.89 per share, last year. Sales of $1.733 billion were down from $2.347 billion last year.

The furniture retailer RH, formerly Restoration Hardware, on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter earnings and sales that topped Wall Street estimates, as it continued to see robust demand for its high-end furniture and home wares. CEO Gary Friedman said the momentum is expected to continue into this year, too, with revenue forecast to grow between 15% and 20% year over year in 2021. That includes expected sales growth of at least 50% in the first quarter, he said, as the company laps a period when its brick-and-mortar stores were temporarily shut due to the Covid pandemic.

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