Market wrap: Wall Street rallied for the third straight session on Wednesday, propelled by sharp gains in energy stocks as a rebound in oil prices boosted sentiment heading into the Christmas holiday. - Reuters
The DJIA rose 184.8 points, or 1.06%, to 17,602.07, the S&P500 gained 25.31 points, or 1.24%, to 2,064.28 and the Nasdaq dded 44.82 points, or 0.9%, to 5,045.93.
Forex summary
*The ringgit gained 0.22% to 4.3018 per US$
*It rose 0.25% to 4.6955 per euro
*Down 0.10% to 6.4025 to the pound sterling
*0.06% higher to 3.0630 per Singapore dollar
*0.07% higher to 3.1150 per Aussie
*Up 0.21% to 3.5579 per 100 yen
Energy
Oil rose more than 3% on Wednesday in thin, pre-holiday trading, buoyed by a surprise drop in US crude inventories, but prices stayed near multi-year lows as global supplies remained abundant and Opec lowered the demand outlook for its exports. At 1740 GMT Brent crude futures were up 99 cents at US$37.10 a barrel. - Reuters
Top foreign stories
US manufacturing struggles: New orders for US manufactured capital goods fell in November and the prior month's increase was revised sharply lower as the drag on manufacturing from a strong dollar and spending cuts in the energy sector showed little sign of abating. - Reuters
Apple allows long-term shareholders to nominate board members: Apple Inc on Tuesday became the latest US company to amend its bylaws to allow long-term shareholders to nominate members to its board. The iPhone maker in a filing said a shareholder who owns at least 3%of its outstanding shares continuously for at least three years were eligible to nominate directors. - Reuters
Top local stories
Another month for MBSB merger: Malaysia Building Society Bhd
(MBSB) and DRB-Hicom Bhd are seeking a one-month extension from the central bank to conclude negotiations on the proposed merger between the former and Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd. MBSB told Bursa Malaysia on Wednesday it has submitted an application to Bank Negara for an extenion of time fto Feb 2, 2016 to conclude negotiations with DRB-Hicom and Khazanah Nasional Bhd on the proposed merger. - StarBiz
Reach Energy speeds up acquisition amid falling oil prices: Reach Energy Bhd, backed by Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, may complete its first acquisition ahead of schedule as plunging crude prices make more assets available for sale. - Bloomberg
November CPI up on higher tobacco prices: Inflation as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.6% in November from a year earlier largely due to a 20.7% jump in prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco, with food and non-alcoholic beverages up 4.1%. The rise in inflation was higher than the 2.3% median estimate of economists. - StarBiz
CIMB Group issues RM2bil Basel III-compliant bonds: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd has issued a RM2bil subordinated debt related to its Tier-2 subordinated debt programme totalling RM10bil in nominal value in compliance with the Basel III banking regulations. - StarBiz
SapKen poised for higher earnings: Higher earnings are in store for integrated oil and gas firm Sapura–Kencana Petroleum Bhd (SapKen), backed by the company’s ability to contin- ue generating a steady income stream, its strong order book and healthy operating cash flow, says Affin Hwang Capital. - StarBiz
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