The logo of Hyundai Motor is seen on the glass door at its branch in Seoul on January 2014. Hyundai launched the new Sonata sedan in South Korea on Monday in the model's first makeover in nearly five years - AFP Photo.
MarketWrap: Eurozone stocks opened 2017 by climbing to their highest in more than a year on Monday after data showed manufacturers in the currency bloc ramped up activity at the fastest pace in more than five years. The US markets were closed. - Reuters
Forex summary
*The ringgit at 4.4900 per US$
*It was 0.05% higher at 4.7037 per euro
*Up 0.22% to 5.5211 per pound sterling
*It was down 0.22% at 3.0993 per Singapore dollar
*0.45% lower to 3.2337 per Aussie
*0.25% lower at 3.8260 per 100 yen
Energy
US oil prices rose in the first trading hours of 2017 on Tuesday, buoyed by a deal for Opec and non-Opec production cuts which kicked off on Sunday. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate CLc1 crude oil prices were up 35 cents, or 0.7%, at US$54.07 at 0010 GMT, not far from last year's high of US$54.51 reached on Dec. 12. - Reuters
Top foreign stories
Hyundai, Kia target sales rebound after first fall in 18 years: Hyundai Motor and affiliate Kia Motors on Monday forecast global sales to rebound in 2017 by a stronger-than-expected 5%, after posting their first annual sales fall in nearly two decades last year. - Reuters
Bitcoin jumps above US$1,000 for first time in three years: Digital currency bitcoin kicked off the new year by jumping above US$1,000 for the first time in three years late on Sunday, having outperformed all central-bank-issued currencies with a 125% climb in 2016. - Reuter
Top local stories
FGV CEO Zakaria: The worst is over: Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV), is optimistic of emerging leaner and stronger this year riding on improved plantation sector performance and commodity prices. Saying the worst is over, group president/CEO Datuk Zakaria Arshad said the group’s strategy would revolve around three main thrusts – business rationalisation to make the organisation leaner, drive for operational excellence and selective external growth. StarBiz
Property market still resilient despite challenges: The property market remains resilient despite of the challenging economic environment. Rahim & Co Research director Sulaiman Saheh said although the number of launches and sales of developers have been declining, there were projects that were performing well due to the nature of the product, concept, location and marketing strategies. - StarBiz
Promising outlook for construction: The construction sector outlook for 2017 seems promising, particularly for infrastructure construction players, given the slew of government projects. A head of research said ongoing projects like the Mass Rapid Transit 2, Tun Razak Exchange and Petronas’ Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development project site in Pengerang will largely contribute to the order books of infrastructure construction players for the year. - StarBiz
Ringgit expected to remain volatile: Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd forecasts that as much as a quarter of foreign funds in the bond market would leave the country, if sentiment on local assets were to worsen, heaping pressure on the ringgit. This put the potential outflow from the bond market at RM55bil, based on the total foreign ownership of RM220bil as at the end of last November. - StarBiz
Sarawak Consolidated gains from Pan Borneo Highway: Sarawak Consolidated Industries Bhd
has secured contracts worth some RM30mil for the supply of precast concrete products to a majority of the 11 construction work packages under the Pan Borneo Highway project. - StarBiz
Accsoft banks on Chinese e-shopping appetite: Accsoft Technology Bhd is banking on Chinese consumers’ e-shopping appetite to drive its soon-to- be-launched e-commerce platform, a venture which it hopes will turn the group around after having languished in the red since 2004. - Edge FD
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