. At 9 am(0100gmt) Tuesday, the ringgit was quoted at 4.4850/4890 against the US dollar compared with 4.4845/4875 on Dec 30, 3016.
Energy
Brent crude was 0.06% higher to US$53.03 per barrel at 2.53pm.
Forex
Ringgit gains 0.12% to 4.4272 versus the US dollar at 3.01pm.
Top foreign stories
Another trading disruption at Singapore’s exchange frustrates investors: The Singapore exchange on Thursday suffered its second trading disruption in five months, with the frequency of the stoppages frustrating investors even as authorities try to revitalise the bourse in one of Asia’s major financial hubs. The Singapore Exchange Ltd said trading opened at 10am local time, more than two hours after the normal scheduled start for some derivative contracts such as the Nikkei 225 index futures. — Reuters
China November exports, imports rise unexpectedly: China’s imports grew at the fastest pace in more than two years in November, fuelled by its strong thirst for commodities from coal to iron ore, while exports also unexpectedly rose, reflecting a pick-up in both domestic and global demand. Imports expanded 6.7% from a year earlier, easily eclipsing economists’ expectations for a drop of 1.3%. Exports rose 0.1% from a year earlier, defying predictions for a 5% slide. — Reuters
Japan Q3 GDP slashed as capex and inventories shrink: Japan’s economy grew much slower than initially estimated in the third quarter, revised data showed, as capital expenditure dried up and companies ran down inventories. The Cabinet Office said the economy grew at a 1.3% annualised rate in July-September, a severe revision from the 2.2% annualised growth first estimated. — Reuters
Top local stories
Higher Q3 earnings for SapuraKencana: SapuraKencana Petroleum’s earnings rose 21.7% to RM158.06mil in the third quarter from RM129.85mil due to the absence of provision for impairments a year ago. Its revenue fell 23.1% to RM2.22bil from RM2.89bil a year ago, while earnings per share were 2.66 sen compared with 2.17 sen previously. — StarBiz
Eco World Q4 earnings up nearly 50% to RM29m: Eco World Development Group Bhd
’s earnings rose 49% to RM29.35mil in the fourth quarter from RM19.69mil a year ago, underpinned by strong sales and steady progress from its 11 ongoing projects. Its revenue rose 8.6% to RM740.98mil from RM681.93mil a year ago. Earnings per share were 1.21 sen compared with 0.83 sen previously. — StarBiz
Thai energy panel approves PTT’s 15-yr LNG deal with Petronas: Thailand’s energy policy committee has approved a proposal for state-owned PTT Pcl to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) over a 15-year period, a senior energy ministry official said. PTT will buy one million tonnes of LNG per year from Petronas in 2017 and 2018, and 1.2 million tonnes from 2019 onwards, the committee said. — Reuters
Malaysia’s foreign reserves under pressure in December, Q1 of 2017: After a decline in the latest foreign reserve figures for November, Malaysia’s foreign reserve is expected to come under pressure this month and in the first quarter of next year due to potential risk of portfolio capital outflows. — StarBiz
Bank group supports steps to stablise ringgit: The Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) sees the new measures introduced by the Financial Markets Committee to stabilise the ringgit will ultimately benefit all the real sectors of the economy. It said the measures will result in less volatility of the ringgit against major currencies, especially the US dollar. — StarBiz
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