Monthly Archives: March 2018

27Mar

Asian shares on positive market sentiment

The FBM KLCI closed 2.54 points or 0.1% higher with Asian shares on positive market sentiment following news that a China-US trade war is unlikely.

Reuters reported that Asian share markets sprang higher on Tuesday as reports of behind-the-scenes talks between the US and China rekindled hopes that a damaging trade war could be averted. Reuters, quoting a person familiar with the discussions, reported that White House officials are asking China to cut tariffs on imported cars, allow foreign majority ownership of financial services firms and buy more US-made semiconductors

Bull_Market

 

It was also reported that Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Monday pledged to maintain trade negotiations and ease access to American businesses.At Bursa Malaysia today, the KLCI closed at 1,862.45 at 5pm after trading between 1,861.56 and 1,867.11.Across Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 2.65%, South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.61% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.79%. In Malaysia, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice president of research Vincent Lau told theedgemarkets.com: “I see a selected mix of heavyweight stocks [lifting the index] along with the regional peers.” A glance across Bursa Malaysia’s website showed top gainers included KLCI-linked stocks like Nestle (M) Bhd, PPB Group Bhd and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd. Other notable gainers included rubber glove manufacturers Top Glove Corp Bhd and Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd.

Bursa Malaysia ended the day on a firmer note tracking key Asian markets as trade war fears eased on reports of talks between the US and China. At 5pm, the 30-stock index closed at 1,862.45, up 2.54 points. The market traded within a range of 5.55 points between an intra-day high of 1,867.11 and a low of 1,861.56 during the session.  Movers in the KLCI component stocks included Petronas Chemicals which pushed the index up by 1.873. Petronas Chemicals rose 13 sen to RM8.23. Nestle lifted the index higher by 0.718 while CIMB Group nudged the index up by 0.664.

 

26Mar

TODAY’S COMEX GOLD SIGNAL AND DAILY REPORT

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                                                                                       Comex Gold Signal

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INTERNATIONAL COMEX NEWS

  • WTI crude oil prices settled at eight-week highs as the prospect of an extension to OPEC-led production cuts into 2019 overshadowed data showing the number of U.S. oil rigs rose to a three-year year. On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for May delivery rose 2.46% to settle at $65.88 a barrel, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent rose 2.22% to trade at $70.44 a barrel.
  • Gold prices rallied to a more than one-month high on strong safe-haven demand amid escalating U.S.-China tensions as the prospect of a trade war heats up. Gold futures for April delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $21.50, or 1.59%, to $1,348.50 a troy ounce. Gold is set to notch its biggest weekly win in more than one month.
  • European Union leaders called on U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday to make permanent an EU exemption from U.S. metal import duties, saying they reserved the right to respond “in a proportionate manner” to protect the bloc’s interests. The 40-day reprieve granted by Washington was like U.S. President Donald Trump pointing a gun at Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron said at a summit in Brussels.

ECONOMY NEWS

  • The United States has flouted trade rules with an inquiry into intellectual property and China will defend its interests, Vice Premier Liu He told U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a telephone call on Saturday, Chinese state media reported. The call between Mnuchin and Liu, a confidante of President Xi Jinping, was the highest-level contact between the two governments since U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans for tariffs on up to $60 billion of Chinese goods on Thursday.
  • Mario Draghi’s success in reviving the euro-area economy could, ironically, delay the European Central Bank’s exit from extraordinary stimulus. The currency bloc’s broadest economic expansion in its history is drawing workers back to the job market and spurring companies to invest to replace aging equipment. Governments — with varying degrees of reluctance — have even pushed some through reforms aimed at improving productivity.
  • For China to seek high economic growth at a time of accumulating financial risk could bring the country more risk, a senior Chinese Communist Party official said on Saturday. China should focus less on “high-speed” growth in the short run and more on “quality” growth, said Yang Weimin, deputy director of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs.

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22Mar
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TODAY’S COMEX GOLD SIGNAL AND DAILY REPORT

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                                                                                        Comex Gold Signal

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INTERNATIONAL COMEX NEWS

  • Natural gas futures inched lower on Wednesday, as investors looked ahead to weekly data from the U.S. on supplies in storage to gauge demand for the fuel. Front-month U.S. natural gas futures dipped 1.5 cents, or around 0.6%, to $2.663 per million British thermal units (btu) by 10:50AM ET (1450GMT). The commodity tacked on 0.9% on Tuesday, boosted by forecasts for a bump in late-winter heating demand.
  • The United States is in talks with the European Union, Argentina and Australia on granting possible exemptions to steel and aluminum tariffs, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Wednesday. Lighthizer told the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee that he expected a decision soon from President Donald Trump on tariffs against imports from China, which Washington accuses of stealing U.S. intellectual property.
  • The United States did not fully comply with a 2014 ruling against its anti-subsidy tariffs on a range of Chinese products, a World Trade Organization compliance panel said on Wednesday, in a ruling that either side can appeal within 20 days. China went to the WTO in 2012 to challenge U.S. anti-subsidy tariffs on 17 Chinese exports including solar panels, wind towers, steel cylinders and aluminum extrusions.

ECONOMY NEWS

  • African leaders agreed on Wednesday to form a $3 trillion continental free-trade zone encompassing 1.2 billion people, but its two biggest economies, Nigeria and South Africa, did not sign up, diminishing its impact. The African Union started talks in 2015 to establish a 55-nation bloc that would be the biggest in the world by member states, in a bid to increase intra-regional trade, which sits at a measly 15 percent of Africa’s total commerce.
  • Teacher Abdelrahman Ali wonders if he will be able to afford diapers for the second child his wife is expecting. He can no longer put meat on the dinner table and has to borrow money from his mother-in-law as hard times bite in Egypt. Ali and other middle class Egyptians – the social backbone of successive governments – are bracing for more hardship after an election next week widely expected to give President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi a second term.
  • The Trump administration will delay imposing steel and aluminum tariffs on some nations while negotiations are taking place for a more permanent exemption, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said. The USTR office is actively discussing exemptions at the request of the European Union, Australia and Argentina, and similar talks are expected with a “great number” of other nations including Brazil, Lighthizer said during a briefing to the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday. The goal is to wrap up the talks over exemptions by the end of April, he said.

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20Mar

TODAY’S COMEX GOLD SIGNAL AND DAILY REPORT

20march                                                                                              Comex Gold Signal

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INTERNATIONAL COMEX NEWS

  • Gold prices were little changed on Monday, hovering close to two-week lows as traders began to focus on this week’s Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting. Comex gold futures were steady at $1,311.9 a troy ounce by 09:00 a.m. ET (13:00 GMT), just off a two-week trough of $1,307.4 hit overnight. Later in the week, the Fed is widely expected to raise rates by a quarter point at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting.
  • Crude oil remained lower on Monday, pulling away from recent two-week highs as news of a rise in U.S. drilling added to concerns over output levels and overshadowed upbeat global demand projections. The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude April contract was down 21 cents or about 0.29% at $62.23 a barrel by 10:00 a.m. ET (14:00 GMT), after hitting a two-week peak of $62.54 on Friday.
  • Natural gas futures started the week on the back foot on Monday, amid speculation the end of the winter heating season will bring warmer temperatures throughout the U.S. and cut into demand for the fuel. Front-month U.S. natural gas futures slumped 5.0 cents, or around 1.8%, to $2.646 per million British thermal units (btu) by 9:50AM ET (1350GMT). It reached its lowest since Feb.

ECONOMY NEWS

  • The European Central Bank and Bank of Japan are about three years behind the Federal Reserve in policy normalization as inflation in Europe and Japan will likely stay below their 2 percent target in the foreseeable future, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (NYSE:BAC) said on Monday. The ECB would not raise its policy rates until 2019, while the BOJ would only make modest adjustments in yield curve control and raise its policy rate until at least 2010, Bank of America Merrill’s global economist Ethan Harris wrote in a research note.
  • The United States has raised concerns about the functioning of the World Trade Organization and asked for reforms, WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo said on Monday, as global trade tensions increased. Azevedo, who is attending a two-day informal meeting of about 50 WTO members in New Delhi, told reporters that the global trade environment was quite risky and the trade body had sought an “open and honest” conversation with its members.
  • The Brexit transition deal agreed with the European Union will make little difference to business leaders as they need legal certainty and will continue to plan for a no deal scenario until they get it, said James Stewart, KPMG’s head of Brexit. “I’m glad to see that terms have been agreed on transition– but we should remember that this is a contract that’s been written but not signed,” Stewart said.

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19Mar

KLSE News Screener

YKGI Holding

YKGI Holdings Bhd has entered into mutual confidential agreements with CSC Steel Holdings Bhd and NS BlueScope Malaysia Sdn Bhd to dispose of certain assets, confirming a recent report by The Edge Malaysia weekly.In a bourse filing today, the company said NS BlueScope is conducting a due diligence on the proposed transaction, adding that it has not received any offer from the parties yet.

 

 

19-3

Financial Klse Malaysia Stock Market

FBM KLCI

The FBM KLCI closed 1.55 points or 0.1% higher as share trade volume across Bursa Malaysia fell below two billion. The KLCI erased losses to finish at 1,847.94 on bargain hunting and as Asian share markets ended mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.9%, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.76% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng erased losses to close 0.04% higher. In Malaysia today, Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd research head Pong Teng Siew told theedgemarkets.com: “Market up because of the Friday close of the US Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the backdrop was generally okay for the global markets.”Today, the KLCI closed higher after falling to its intraday low at 1,845.45. Pong said investors had bargain hunted for KLCI-linked telecommunication, banking and plantation stocks.Across Bursa Malaysia, 1.94 billion shares worth RM1.68 billion were traded. On Friday, the bourse saw 2.88 billion shares worth RM4.26 billion transacted.

 

PALM  OIL

Malaysian palm oil futures edged up in early trade on Monday supported by weakness in the ringgit, its currency of trade, and as traders were bullish about prospects of improving demand.The benchmark palm oil contract for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 0.4% to 2,425 ringgit (US$620.05) a tonne at the midday break, after falling to a one-week low of 2,407 ringgit earlier in the session. Trading volumes stood at 22,858 lots of 25 tonnes each at noon on Monday.

16Mar
Technical Analysis NZD/USD

Forex: Technical Analysis NZD/USD

NZD/USD TECHNICAL STRATEGY: SHORT AT 0.7320

New Zealand Dollar denotes a swing top after delicate 4Q GDP report

Break of help from March low insights bigger downtrend back in play

Short position re-built up over 0.73, focusing on 2018 territory floor

The New Zealand Dollar looks helpless against more profound misfortunes against its US partner in the wake of breaking bolster directing a restorative rise from March lows. The cash combine separated after disillusioning final quarter GDP information, breaking the here and now uptrend built up from the March 8 swing base.

Technical Analysis NZD/USD

A consequent rise considered a chance to re-enter short at 0.7320, re-setting up a position that had been halted out at breakeven before in the week after some underlying benefit taking. The move discovered complete, rupturing the limits of the bigger rise to indicate the predominant drop is back in play.

From here, an every day close beneath help in the 0.7177-86 zone (February 8 low, 38.2% Fibonacci retracement) opens the entryway for a trial of the half level at 0.7109. On the other hand, a move back over the 23.6% Fibonacci extension at 0.7332 uncovered the 0.7428-34 zone (38.2% Fib development, September 20 high).

Technical Analysis NZD/USD
The reconstituted short position at first targets 0.7186, with a stop-misfortune to be activated on a day by day close over 0.7322. A substantial measurement of approaching occasion hazard by method for the FOMC and RBNZ money related strategy declarations looks set to drive unpredictability and might impetus the following leg descending.

 

15Mar

Malaysia Stock Market

The FBM KLCI index lost 6.97 points or 0.37% on Wednesday. The Finance Index increased 0.06% to 18165.75 points, the Properties Index dropped 0.36% to 1132.55 points and the Plantation Index down 0.60% to 8056.42 points. The market traded within a range of 8.53 points between an intra-day high of 1863.67 and a low of 1855.14 during the session.

 

airasia

Actively traded stocks include SAPNRG, AAX, NWP, DGB, SKH, DGB-WA, HIBISCS, PICORP, EASTLND and AAX-C11. Trading volume increased to 2321.54 mil shares worth RM2063.39 mil as compared to Tuesday’s 2290.21 mil shares worth RM2080.13 mil. Leading Movers were HLBANK (+28 sen to RM19.30), GENTING (+13 sen to RM9.05), GENM (+4 sen to RM5.27), RHBBANK (+4 sen to RM5.39) and PMETAL (+3 sen to RM5.00). Lagging Movers were NESTLE (-1640 sen to RM141.00), AMMB (-11 sen to RM4.08), TM (-2 sen to RM5.57), MAXIS (-14 sen to RM5.75) and YTL (-2 sen to RM1.44).

Market breadth was negative with 332 gainers as compared to 635 losers. Th KLCI inched down to 1857.06 points amid overnight retreat in US market. Market sentiment was muted as lack of fresh lead.

 

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14Mar

TODAY’S COMEX GOLD SIGNAL AND DAILY REPORT

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                                                                                     Today’s Comex Gold Signal

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INTERNATIONAL COMEX NEWS

  • Gold prices rebounded on Tuesday, as data showing that U.S. consumer prices cooled in February sent the greenback lower and dampened expectations for aggressive rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Comex gold futures were up 0.36% at $1,325.6 a troy ounce by 09:00 a.m. ET (13:00 GMT). The dollar weakened after data showed that U.S. consumer prices slowed last month, confirming that an anticipated pickup in inflation will probably be only gradual.
  • Crude oil prices turned higher on Tuesday, as investors turned their attention to this week’s U.S. supply reports, although ongoing concerns over U.S. production levels continued to weigh. The U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil WTI Futures April contract was up 50 cents or about 0.81% at $61.86 a barrel by 03:35 a.m. ET (07:35 GMT), off session lows of $60.80. Elsewhere, Brent oil for May delivery on the ICE Futures Exchange in London advanced 58 cents or about 0.89% to $65.53 a barrel.
  • Renewable fuel credits for 2018 slipped on Tuesday after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted a bankrupt Philadelphia refiner significant relief from its biofuel obligations. Prices for renewable fuel (D6) credits for 2018 traded at 35 cents on Tuesday morning, traders said, down from 38.5 cents on Monday and roughly 40 percent lower than just two weeks ago.

ECONOMY NEWS

  • Starting in 2020, banks won’t be allowed to use two interest rate benchmarks that have been discredited by allegations of fraud, a top European Union regulator said, putting pressure on the financial sector to find alternatives fast. The Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor) and Euro Overnight Index Average (Eonia) are used to calibrate monetary policy, price 180 trillion euros ($222.61 trillion) worth of derivatives and, in some countries, to determine interest rates on mortgages.
  • There remains a degree of untapped potential in the Canadian economy, particularly in the labor market, that means the country may be able to generate more growth without higher inflation, the head of the Bank of Canada said on Tuesday. While interest rates are likely to move higher over time, the central bank cannot take a mechanical approach as policymakers cannot know in advance how far the capacity-building process can go but have an obligation to let it occur, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said.
  • China is giving its central bank the power to write the rules for the financial sector, as part of a sweeping overhaul aimed at closing regulatory loopholes and curbing risk in the $43 trillion banking and insurance industries. The China Banking Regulatory Commission and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission will be merged in the biggest industry overhaul since 2003. Some of their functions, including drafting key regulations and prudential oversight, will move to the People’s Bank of China, according to a proposal unveiled Tuesday during the National People’s Congress.

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7Mar

The KLCI inched up and closed higher at 1848.37

Malaysia Stock Market

The FBM KLCI index gained 5.75 points or 0.31% on Tuesday. The Finance Index increased 0.49% to 18124.59 points, the Properties Index dropped 0.28% to 1154.75 points and the Plantation Index rose 0.17% to 8089.76 points. The market traded within a range of 4.42 points between an intra-day high of 1850.18 and a low of 1845.76 during the session. Actively traded stocks include HGBLOB, NWP, WEGMANS, SAPNRG, TRIVE, HUAAN, HENGYUAN-CM, HIBISCS, DGB-WA and DGB.

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Trading volume increased to 2767.56 mil shares worth RM2779.78 mil as compared to Monday’s 2620.97 mil shares worth RM2405.07 mil. Leading Movers were NESTLE (+910 sen to RM137.00), PMETAL (+21 sen to RM5.18), MAXIS (+21 sen to RM5.91), KLCC (+26 sen to RM7.89) and YTL (+3 sen to RM1.41). Lagging Movers were ASTRO (-6 sen to RM2.35), GENM (- 12 sen to RM5.09), TM (-10 sen to RM5.62), PETDAG (-32 sen to RM25.18) and SIME (-3 sen to RM2.62). Market breadth was positive with 529 gainers as compared to 438 losers. The KLCI inched up and closed higher at 1848.37 points despite overnight mixed performance in US market. The performance of our local bourse was lifted by buying interest in heavy weight counters led by Nestle.

5Mar

TODAY’S COMEX GOLD SIGNAL AND DAILY REPORT

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                                                                                              Comex Gold Signal

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INTERNATIONAL COMEX NEWS

  • Crude prices were lower on Wednesday, hitting the lowest levels of the session after data showed a sizable increase in U.S. oil and gasoline stockpiles last week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures lost 48 cents, or 0.8%, to $62.55 a barrel by 10:35AM ET (1535GMT). Prices were at around $63.10 prior to the release of the inventory data. Meanwhile, London-traded Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., shed 55 cents, or roughly 0.8%, to $65.95 a barrel.
  • Gold prices held steady near a two-and-a-half week low on Wednesday, as the U.S. dollar remained broadly supported by expectations for several rate hikes by the Federal Reserve this year despite the release of downbeat U.S. economic growth data. Comex gold futures were little changed at $1,319.1 a troy ounce by 08:35 a.m. ET (12:35 GMT), just off Tuesday’s two-and-a-half week lows of $1,314.40.
  • Natural gas futures inched higher on Wednesday, as investors looked ahead to weekly data from the U.S. on supplies in storage to gauge demand for the fuel. Front-month U.S. natural gas futures tacked on 1.1 cents, or around 0.4%, to $2.694 per million British thermal units (btu) by 9:40AM ET (1440GMT).

ECONOMY NEWS

  • The European Union and Japan are rushing to ensure that their planned free trade agreement can enter force early in 2019, ideally before Britain leaves the EU, the lead negotiators of both sides said on Wednesday. Japan’s ambassador for international economic affairs, Yoichi Suzuki, said the deal agreed by negotiators last year would likely be presented to the Japanese parliament later in 2018, allowing ratification by the end of the year.
  • The European Union published its draft Brexit withdrawal treaty on Wednesday, where it called for a ‘common regulatory area’ on the island of Ireland. The 119 page bill states: ‘the common regulatory area shall comprise an area without internal borders in which the free movement of goods is ensured and North-South cooperation protected’. Michel Barnier, the European Commission’s chief Brexit negotiator responsible for preparing the bill, declared that nothing in the bill would come as a surprise to the UK government, as it was based on the Phase One discussions that were concluded in December.
  • France’s government on Wednesday promised investment of 10 million euros a day over a decade to prepare the SNCF national railway for Europe-wide liberalization in an effort to persuade labor unions to discuss a planned shake-up of the network. In one of his most daring reform plans so far, President Emmanuel Macron wants to scrap the job-for-life guarantees and other sizeable perks for all new hires at the SNCF, a bastion of organized labor since nationalization in the 1930s.

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