Bank of Japan
Energy
Brent crude was 0.02% lower to US$56.21 per barrel at 2.38pm.
Forex
Ringgit down 0.03% to 4.4850 versus the US dollar at 2.32pm.
Top foreign stories
Bank of Korea to keep policy easy in 2017: South Korea’s central bank said on Thursday it plans to keep its monetary policy accommodative next year to support economic recovery and to push inflation to reach the bank’s target of 2%. The Bank of Korea also said it sees the output gap persisting through next year as the economy will lack the momentum to reach full capacity. — Reuters
China’s cash-strapped LeEco in talks to gain US$1.4b from investor: China’s cash-strapped LeEco said it is in talks to secure 10 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion) from an unidentified strategic investor, but the announcement was seen as insufficient to dispel concern over the high-tech conglomerate’s financial health. — Reuters
One BoJ policymaker called for higher yield target at Dec meeting: The Bank of Japan should be flexible about raising its bond yield target and allow long-term interest rates to increase if such moves reflected improvements in the economy, one of its board members was quoted as saying at this month’s rate review. — Reuters
Diverging central banks will power dollar in 2017: Donald Trump is promising more US government spending. The coming year will also most likely see tightening Federal Reserve policy, too. That contrasts with continued weak growth and loose monetary conditions in the eurozone and Japan. This divergence between central banks will help the dollar get even stronger against most other currencies. — Reuters
Thai Nov factory output rises at best pace in 43 months: Thailand’s industrial output rose for a fourth straight month in November and at the fastest annual pace in 43 months, lifted by demand for steel, electronics and autos. The Industry Ministry said its manufacturing production index in November was up 3.81% from a year earlier. A Reuters poll forecast a rise of 0.20%. — Reuters
Singapore Q4 GDP seen likely to show economy dodging recession: Singapore’s economy is expected to have grown in the fourth quarter, averting a slip into recession, but the outlook is clouded by uncertainty over global trade under the incoming Trump Administration. Gross domestic product (GDP) in the October-December quarter was expected to grow 3.7% from the previous quarter on an annualised basis. — Reuters
Top local stories
Foundpac
makes firm debut on Bursa: FoundPac Group Bhd made a firm debut on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia on Thursday when it opened at 61 sen, which was seven sen above its initial public offering price of 54 sen. — StarBiz
Turkey operations to weigh on Malaysia Airports: The deteriorating outlook in Turkey is weighing on Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB)’s operations due to the slowdown in the tourism sector there, Affin Hwang Capital Research said in a research note. It said MAHB’s overall passenger traffic growth was broadly inline with expectations but was mainly supported by recovery in its Malaysian operations. — StarBiz
PublicInvest Research fair value for HLT Global at 50 sen: HLT GLobal Bhd, en route to a listing on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia on Jan 10 next year, is expected to deliver a potential upside of 11.1% from its offer price of 45 sen per share. PublicInvest Research on Thursday assigned a fair value of 50 sen for HLT Global, whose core activities include the designing and manufacturing of glove-dipping lines. — StarBiz
MIDF Research retains ‘buy” on Gas Malaysia: Gas Malaysia continues to be on MIDF Research’s Buy list with an unchanged target price of RM3.07 after the Government approved the revision of the natural gas tariff for the non-power sector in Peninsular Malaysia from January 2017 to end-2019. — StarBiz
OCBC, Great Eastern unveil protection reward scheme cardholders: OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd and Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Bhd have teamed up to introduce the country’s first life insurance protection reward scheme for credit cardholders. — Bernama
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
