Call for extreme action: Trump has suggested shutting down parts of the Internet to stop the spread of propaganda from the Islamic State.
MarketWrap: A sharp decline in technology stocks pulled both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 indexes into the red on Thursday, while the Dow managed to notch a record closing high with a lift from bank and energy shares. - Reuters
The DJIA rose 68.35 points, or 0.36%, to 19,191.93, the S&P 500 lost 7.73 points, or 0.35%, to 2,191.08 and the Nasdaq dropped 72.57 points, or 1.36%, to 5,251.11.
Forex summary
*The ringgit gained 0.35% to 4.4478 per US$
*It was 0.09% lower at 4.7450 per euro
*Up 0.11% to 5.5990 per pound sterling
*Up 0.13% to 3.1206 per Singapore dollar
*0.04% lower to 3.3035 per Aussie
*Flat at 3.9117 per 100 yen
Energy
Oil prices surged 4% on Thursday, with Brent crude at its highest in about 16 months, extending gains after Opec and Russia agreed to restrict output to reduce the global supply glut more quickly. Benchmark Brent futures settled 4.1% or US$2.10 higher at US$53.94. - Reuters
Top foreign stories
Trump warns of consequences for US firms sending jobs abroad: President-elect Donald Trump warned on Thursday that US companies would face "consequences" for outsourcing jobs abroad, as he touted his early success in persuading Carrier to keep about 1,000 jobs in the United States rather than move them to Mexico. - Reuters
Starbucks CEO steps down to focus on high-end coffee: Starbucks Corp co-founder Howard Schultz will step down as chief executive to focus on new high-end coffee shops, handing the top job to chief operating officer Kevin Johnson, a long-time technology executive. - Reuters
US factory activity at five-month high: US factory activity accelerated to a five-month high in November amid a pickup in new orders and production, suggesting that the manufacturing sector was regaining its footing after a prolonged slump. The Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity rose 1.3 percentage points to a reading of 53.2 last month, the best since June. - Reuters
ChemChina setting up US$5b fund to help finance Syngenta bid: China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) is setting up a fund that will aim to raise US$5 billion to help finance its purchase of Swiss seeds group, sources said. - Reuters
Top local stories
O&G stocks rise on Opec accord: The surprise agreement by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to reduce oil production sparked a rally in crude prices as well as Bursa Malaysia’s oil and gas (O&G) counters. Crude oil prices advanced as much as 10% immediately following the announcement of Opec’s commitment to a first output cut in eight years. - StarBiz
Fernandes, Kamarudin get Bank Negara green light: AirAsia Bhd’s subscription agreement with Tune Live Sdn Bhd for the proposed issuance of 559 million new shares in AirAsia at RM1.80 that will raise RM1.01bil became unconditional on Thursday. This came following Tune Live receiving approval from Bank Negara for its partial offshore funding. - StarBiz
SC, Mimos in data capability tie-up: The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has signed a mem- orandum of understanding with Mimos to jointly develop a capital market advanced analytics platform. - Bernama
Ringgit and crude oil price pull down corporate results: The recently concluded corporate results season was rather disappointing, with a lot more companies failing to meet earnings expectations in the midst of the weaker ringgit and prolonged low crude oil prices. MIDF Research says the percentage of companies within its universe which registered earnings that came in below its expectations rose to 33% in the third quarter of this calendar year from 23% in the prior quarter. - StarBiz
FTSE Russell adds IJM Corp to FBM KLCI: FTSE Russell, the global index provider, has announced one change to the constituents of the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) with IJM Corp Bhd
added to the index and SapuraKencana Petroleum being removed. - StarBiz
Property market to remain subdued in 2017: The property market is expected to remain subdued in 2017 mired by issues such as unaffordability, high rejection of loan applications and macroeconomic issues such as rising living costs and smaller growth in incomes. - Bernama
KLK disputes MP Evans valuation: Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) has disputed the asset valuation report presented by London-listed plantation firm MP Evans Group Plc as proof that its revised offer undervalues the latter and urges MP Evans shareholders to accept its offer “as soon as reasonably practicable”. - StarBiz
Chinese tyre maker to set up RM894mil factory in PKFZ: Qingdao FullRun Tyre Corp Ltd of China, a tyre maker, is expected to invest US$200mil (RM894mil) to set up a factory in Malaysia. - StarBiz
Berjaya Assets reports Q1 loss: Berjaya Assets Bhd recorded a net loss of RM158.78mil for the first quarter, due to lower profits from numbers forecast operator Natural Avenue Sdn Bhd as the company made higher prize payouts during the period. Its revenue was 3.9% lower at RM91.83mil. - StarBiz
Sharp decline in new orders push PMI to 5-month low: The Nikkei Malaysia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to a five- month low of 47.1 in November, from 47.2 in October, driven by the sharpest decline in new orders since the survey series started in July 2012.
IHS Markit said the latest survey data pointed to worsening operating conditions in Malaysia’s goods producing sector. - Edge FD
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