Forex - Dollar hits 8-year highs against yen

The broadly stronger dollar rose to eight-year highs against the yen on Tuesday, boosted by the view that the Federal Reserve is on track to raise interest rates later this year. USD/JPY hit highs of 122.68, the most since July 2007 and was last at 122.49, up 0.77% for the day.   The greenback strengthened across the board after Fed Chair Janet Yellen reiterated Friday that the bank still expects to start raising interest rates later...

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NYMEX crude oil gains in early Asia as on demand prospects

Crude oil prices gained in early Asia on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to demand prospects from a mildly upbeat economic assessment by the Federal Reserve chief last week.On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for July delivery rose 0.17% at $59.90 a barrel.Chair Janet Yellen said that the prospect for higher rates this year is underpinned by signs of a recovery gathering pace, though she reiterated that any decision would be data driven.Overnight, crude oil futures declined on Monday, as trade volumes were light with U.K. markets...

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Malaysia: Shares open lower on Tuesday morning

Malaysia share prices fell on Tuesday morning with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index down 6.44 points to 1,760.94 points. Volume was 34.2 million lots worth RM21.2 million. Gainers outnumbered losers 109 to 73...

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Malaysia: Stocks open lower on Monday

Malaysia share prices slipped on Monday morning with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index down 0.48 points to 1,787.02 points. Volume was 30.2 million lots worth RM 8.6 million. Gainers outnumbered losers 89 to 51...

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Oil prices edge up on firm Asian, US demand

[SINGAPORE] Crude oil futures edged up on Monday, buoyed by healthy Asian appetite and demand from the U.S. driving season. Front-month Brent crude prices had gained 2 cents to US$65.39 per barrel by 0312 GMT. US crude prices were up 14 cents at US$59.86 a barrel. "Global oil demand continues to surprise to the upside, with April data showing no signs of slowdown despite a pick-up in prices," Energy Aspects said. Japan's customs-cleared...

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Malaysia: Shares up 1.25 points on Wednesday

Malaysia share prices opened slightly higher on Wednesday with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index up 1.25 points to 1,810.97 points. Volume was 48.6 million lots worth RM 18.6 million. Gainers outnumbered losers 91 to 51...

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Stocks to watch: GSS Energy, Accordia Golf Trust, Noble Group

THE following Singapore companies issued announcements on Tuesday that may affect their trading activity. GSS Energy has invested S$5 million into Ramba Energy to participate in the latter's exploration programme at the West Jambi block in Sumatra, Indonesia. This represents an expansion of GSS's existing operations in Central & East Java into Sumatra, which will enhance the group's overall growth potential, said GSS. Accordia...

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Malaysia: Shares open lower

Malaysia share prices opened slightly lower on Tuesday with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index down 4.45 to 1,819.05 points. Volume was 79.3 million lots worth RM 36.1 million. Gainers outnumbered losers 127 to 62...

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Malaysia's Petronas to delay start-up of Johor petrochemical complex

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia's state-owned oil and gas company Petronas is delaying the start-up of its huge RAPID refining and petrochemical complex in the southern state of Johor until mid-2019, back from early that year, its top executive said on Monday. "For the refinery, the start up will be middle of 2019. That is the current schedule," President and Group Chief Executive Officer Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said on the sidelines of the Asia Oil and Gas Conference in Kuala Lumpur. All of the engineering, procurement and construction...

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Malaysia: Share prices edge up on Monday morning

Malaysia share prices opened slightly higher on Monday with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index up 0.78 points to 1,812.7 points. Volume was 62.8 million lots worth RM 17.44 million. Gainers outnumbered losers 129 to 5...

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Hot stock: YuuZoo shares up 8.092 per cent in morning trade

SHARES of mainboard-listed Internet stock YuuZoo surged 8.092 per cent or S$0.014 to S$0.187 as at 10.30am, making it one of the most actively traded stocks on Monday morning. It opened 0.1 Singapore cent higher at 1.8 Singapore cents before hitting a high of 1.89 Singapore cents at about 9.20am. Some 29.1 million shares changed hands. On Friday, the social networking and e-commerce firm posted a net profit of US$3.2 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015, reversing a loss of US$1.1 million from a year ago, on the...

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Singapore: STI up 3.67 points at opening, following gains on Wall Street

THE Straits Times Index (STI) rose by 3.67 points or 0.11 per cent to 3,466.77 as at 9am on Monday, following last week's rebound on Wall Street stocks lifted by encouraging data on the US jobs market and inflation. Among the most active stocks out of the gate were OLS, up 16.67 per cent or 0.1 Singapore cent at 0.7 Singapore cent; EMS Energy, up 8.7 per cent or 0.2 Singapore cent at 2.5 Singapore cents; and YuuZoo, up 3.47 per cent or 0.6 Singapore cents at 17.9 Singapore cents. A total of 53.3 million shares worth S$34.2 million...

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Oil prices lower in Asian trade

Oil prices sank in Asia on Friday on concerns about unrelenting global production levels despite lofty supplies, analysts said. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for June delivery fell 15 cents to US$59.73 while Brent crude for July fell six cents to US$66.64 in late-morning trade. Nicholas Teo, market analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore, said prices "faltered" after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said slowing US shale...

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Dollar slips as US pipeline inflation turns negative

[NEW YORK] The dollar fell for a third straight day on Thursday as negative US inflation data underlined weakness that could forestall the Federal Reserve's plan to raise ultra-low interest rates. While the latest US jobless claims report showed the labor market on a tightening course, one of the Fed's key objectives along with price stability, the government reported US producer prices unexpectedly resumed their downward trend in April,...

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Malaysia: Shares open down on Friday

Malaysia share prices opened lower on Friday with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index down 2.74 points to 1,804.81 points. Volume was 69.1 million lots worth RM 81.4 million. Gainers outnumbered losers 122 to 47...

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Stocks to watch: Olam, SIA, Genting Singapore, Hyflux, Raffles Education

AGRIBUSINESS Olam International on Friday posted a net profit of S$31.26 million for its first quarter ended March 31, 2015, down a hefty 92.1 per cent from S$396.13 million in the year-ago period. The commodity group said net earnings plunged on the back of a net exceptional loss of S$97.2 million in Q1, mainly from the buyback of bonds, while net earnings in the year-ago period had included an exceptional gain of S$293.9 million. Revenue...

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Mexico stocks lower at close of trade; IPC down 0.51%

Mexico stocks were lower after the close on Tuesday, as losses in the Telecoms Services, Financial Services and Materials sectors led shares lower. At the close in Mexico, the IPC fell 0.51% to hit a new 3-months high.   The best performers of the session on the IPC were Gruma, S.A.B. De C.V. (MX:GRUMAB), which rose 2.28% or 4.270 points to trade at 191.060 at the close. Meanwhile, Alfa, S.A.B. De C.V. (MX:ALFAA) added 2.25% or 0.700 points to end at 31.850 and Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico (MX:GAPB) was up 1.59% or 1.720 points...

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Stocks to watch: Vard Holdings, Ezion, Q&M, SingPost, Rotary Engineering

SHIPBUILDER Vard Holdings on Wednesday announced that its net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015, plunged 89.7 per cent to eight million Norwegian kroner (S$1.43 million), compared to 78 million kroner in the year-ago period, mainly as a result of net foreign-exchange losses and higher interest expenses. Revenues for the quarter was up 14.6 per cent at 3.06 billion kroner, versus 2.67 billion kroner in the corresponding period...

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Perfect Storm For EUR Bonds Will Not Continue, But Watch Out For Fed Hik

European government bond yields have suddenly reversed course, and after a multi-year rally we have seen a historic jump in yields. There is no longer a QE 'scarcity premium' in German bonds and pension funds need to buy less duration when bond yields go up. Put this together with profit-taking, in a situation where the market makers at banks might be less capable of warehousing risk due to tighter regulation, and we have a perfect storm for bonds. However, there is also a limit to how high yields can go, especially in Europe. We do not...

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Malaysia: Stocks end 6.8 points lower

Malaysian shares closed lower on Tuesday with the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index slipping 6.8 points to 1,798.61. Some 1.62 billion lots, valued at RM1.7 billion were traded. Losers outnumbered gainers 576 to 240...

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Hot stocks: Pacific Andes, China Fishery among actively traded stocks

PACIFIC Andes Resources Development and its subsidiary, China Fishery Group, are among the most actively traded stocks on Singapore Exchange on Tuesday. The two stocks saw more than 75 million shares traded altogether. At 03:47pm, Pacific Andes, a distributor of seafood, was trading around S$0.068 a share, up 0.3 cent or 4.6 per cent. More than 47 million shares changed hands, making it the most actively traded stock on the exchange. China...

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Crude-oil bulls threatened as shale patch revives drilling plans

[NEW YORK] The rally in crude oil is reviving the US shale boom, threatening speculators who are the most bullish on prices since July. Money managers increased their net-long position in West Texas Intermediate crude by 3.9 per cent in the seven days ended May 5, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. That's a level last seen toward the start of last year's price crash. Short positions declined to the lowest this year. A...

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Malaysia: Shares open up on Monday

Malaysia share prices opened higher on Monday with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index up 2.3 points to 1,809.99 points. Volume was 20.6 million lots worth RM 7.7 million. Gainers outnumbered losers 128 to 39...

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Ringgit leads gains in Asian currencies as crude extends rally

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia's ringgit rose, leading gains in Asia, as a rally in crude prices eased concern that falling revenue will harm the oil-exporting nation. Brent crude has advanced 2.7 per cent this week, taking its increase this year to 19 per cent. That's improved the outlook for the finances of a government that derives around 30 per cent of its revenue from oil. The ringgit is still Asia's second- worst performer over six months,...

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Singapore: Stocks weaken in low volume

THE Straits Times Index (STI) was pushed up by about 11 points in the final seconds of trading last Thursday, April 30, so it came as no surprise that on Monday, the first trading day of May, the index spent most of the day in the red and eventually ended a nett 4.69 points weaker at 3,482.7. It also came as no surprise to see penny stock interest continue to dwindle - turnover done was a weak 1.5 billion units worth S$1.02 billion for an average of S$0.68 per unit traded, more than twice the value a month ago. The dollar value...

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Malaysia sukuk sales jump to 16-month high as confidence returns

[KUALA LUMPUR] Islamic bond sales in Malaysia jumped this month to the most since December 2013, adding to signs confidence is returning to the world's biggest sukuk market. Issuance was 23 per cent higher than in March at 11.3 billion ringgit (S$4.24 billion), according to figures compiled by Bloomberg. Sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd. accounted for 2 billion ringgit and DanaInfra Nasional Bhd, a state-owned company that...

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