Wall Street stocks tumbled for a second straight session on Tuesday despite a mostly strong batch of earnings, suggesting the market rally is running out of steam. After major indices finished last week at all-time highs, stocks are under pressure amid questions over whether the expected benefits of a speeding post-Covid economy were already priced in. "Earnings have been coming through fine, even better than fine," said Maris Ogg of Tower Bridge Advisors. But good results are "not so much an upside surprise," she added.

The Dow jones Industrial Average fell 0.8 per cent to 33,821.30. The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.7 per cent to 4,134.94, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.9 per cent to 13,786.27.

SG

Real estate management services provider LHN (SGX:41O) expects a higher net profit before tax of "no less than approximately S$17 million" for H1 2021, an estimated 4.5 times increase from the year-ago period, the company said on Tuesday in a preliminary update on the group's unaudited financial results. The growth comes on the back of gains from subleases, lower fair-value loss on investment properties, short-term contracts for the management of dormitories expected to end in the second half of the financial year, as well as a reduction in rental costs due to rental rebates received for the carpark division.

The continued "disappointing" results of KrisEnergy's (SGX: SK3) Apsara oil field in Cambodian oil concession Block A means its restructuring plan is no longer viable, the troubled oil and gas group said in a bourse filing on Tuesday. There remains "material uncertainty" over the company's ability to continue as a going concern.

Keppel Data Centre (DC) Reit (SGX: AJBU) on Tuesday posted a distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.462 Singapore cents for the first quarter, up 18.1 per cent from the first quarter of last year, buoyed by accretive acquisitions and asset enhancements in 2020. Distributable income went up 17.5 per cent year on year to S$42.03 million, it said in an operational update. Meanwhile, net property income rose 10 per cent to S$60.99 million and gross revenue rose 10.6 per cent to S$66.69 million.

Catalist-listed Lasseters International Holdings (SGX: 5EL) reached a three-year high on Tuesday after the integrated resort operator proposed to dispose of its Australian assets for A$105 million (S$108.5 million). The counter jumped to an intraday high of 6.6 Singapore cents, up 2.7 cents or 69.2 per cent as at 9.04am. The last time the counter closed near this level was in October 2017.

DBS Group Holdings (SGX: D05) will acquire a 13 per cent stake in Shenzhen Rural Commercial Bank (SZRCB) for RMB5,286 million (S$1.08 billion), in a move that will make it the largest shareholder of the Chinese bank. In a statement on Tuesday, DBS said it will acquire 1.35 billion new shares in SZRCB at RMB 3.91 per share, representing 1.01 times the book value per share of SZRCB, as at end-December 2020. "The investment is in line with the group's strategy of investing in its core markets and accelerates its expansion in the rapidly growing Greater Bay Area," the statement said.

US

Apple INC (US: APPL) rolled out the first redesign of its flagship desktop iMac computer in almost a decade, showcasing its latest machine with in-house designed chips instead of those made by Intel. The new iMacs come in a new 24-inch screen size, are far thinner than their predecessors and have slimmer edges. They also come in seven different colors, have a 1080p camera, better speakers and improved microphones for video conferencing. The company also unveiled an updated iPad Pro.

Netflix (US: NFLX) shares tumbled some 10 per cent on Tuesday after the leading streaming service reported cooling growth in paid subscriptions that caught fire during the pandemic. While revenue jumped 24 per cent in the first quarter of this year when compared to the same period in 2020, paid memberships grew less than expected to 208 million, Netflix said in its quarterly earnings release.

The 18-year partnership between the late Kobe Bryant and Nike (US: NKE) came to an end last week as his estate decided against renewing the contract. Bryant's widow, Vanessa, and Nike both released statements late Monday night announcing the end of the deal. "My hope will always be to allow Kobe's fans to get and wear his products," Vanessa Bryant said in her statement. "Kobe's products sell out in seconds. That says everything. I was hoping to forge a lifelong partnership with Nike that reflects my husband's legacy."

Boeing (US: BA) announced on Tuesday that David Calhoun would remain CEO potentially through 2028 as the aviation giant navigates a multi-year comeback following the 737 MAX scandal and the Covid-19 travel industry collapse. Boeing raised the company's retirement age for Mr Calhoun to 70, ensuring a measure of continuity during a still-uncertain time in aviation and as questions linger over the company's practices after two tragic MAX crashes claimed 346 lives.

White House officials have told supporters they will pledge to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by at least half by the end of the decade, according to people familiar with the plans. A reduction of 50% from 2005 levels would represent a near doubling of a climate target for 2025 set by the Obama administration. Achieving a reduction on that scale will require sweeping changes for power generation, transportation, and manufacturing.

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