Tuesday, December 21, 2010

20101221 1815 FCPO EOD Daily Chart Study.

FCPO closed : 3561, changed : +61 points, volume : lower.
Bollinger band reading : correction range bound upside biased.
MACD Histrogram : falling, buyer closing position as seller testing market.
Support : 3550, 3500, 3470 level.
Resistance : 3620, 3650, 3700 level.
Comment :
31 points range market FCPO continue to rebound firmer recorded gain with lower volume transacted as Indonesia raise Jan 2011 crude palm oil export tax to 20% vs 15% for Dec 2010 and a firmer soy oil and crude oil futures prices.
Daily chart formed a small body doji up bar candle positioned above middle Bollinger band support level with an unchanged correction range bound upside biased market reading rebounding upward testing higher resistance level.
When to buy : buy at support and weakness with quick cut loss and profit target.
When to sell : sell at resistant or strength with quick cut loss and profit target.

20101221 1729 FKLI EOD Daily Chart Study.

FKLI closed : 1514, changed : +22 points,  volume : higher.
Bollinger band reading : side way range bound little upside biased.
MACD Histrogram : recovered, seller closing position as buyer returned.
Support : 1500, 1485, 1470 level.
Resistance : 1515, 1530, 1550 level.
Comment :
FKLI rallied closed recorded significant gain with higher volume traded following recovery on major Asia markets plus some positive news on the corporate sector of new bidder with higher offer price for PLUS Expressway Bhd.
Daily chart formed a wide range up bar candle after market opened little gap up and surging higher breaking 1,500 psychology resistance level and closed almost at the high of the day with the reading adjusted into suggesting a side way range bound little upside biased market development testing higher resistance level.
When to buy : buy at support or weakness with quick cut loss and profit target.
When to sell : sell at resistant or strength with quick cut loss and profit target.

20101221 0929 Global Economics News.

E.U: ECB bond purchases drop to lowest in almost two months. The Frankfurt-based ECB said it completed EUR 603m (USD 794m) of purchases after settling EUR 2.667b the previous week. It will take seven-day term deposits to neutralize EUR 72.5b of liquidity created by bond purchases since the program started on May 10, it said. (Source: Bloomberg)

E.U: ECB expresses 'serious concerns' about Irish bank proposals. The European Central Bank said it has "serious concerns" that legislation introduced by the Irish government to fix its banking system threatens the ECB's ability to run its liquidity operations. "The ECB has serious concerns that the draft law is insufficiently legally certain," the central bank said in a position paper published on its website. The Irish law should not hurt the ability of euro-region monetary authorities "to enforce their rights including, without limitation, the enforcement of security over any eligible collateral posted by any relevant institution." (Source: Bloomberg)

Portugal: Says budget deficit narrows for first time this year. The budget gap narrowed to EUR 12.94b about EUR 100m less than in the same period last year. Spending rose 2.6%, a pace that's 0.2ppts slower than recorded for the 10 months through October. Tax revenue increased 5% YoY. (Source: Bloomberg)

Taiwan: Export orders in November gained more than estimated. Orders, an indication of shipments in the next one to three months, increased 14.34% YoY in November after a 12.26% YoY climb in October. (Source: Bloomberg)

Crude Oil: Trades close to 2-year high as cold boosts heating demand. Temperatures in Europe and parts of the U.S. are colder than usual, boosting same-day U.K. natural gas prices by as much as 14%. Crude for January delivery gained 63 cents to USD 88.65/bbl. The more actively traded February contract advanced 51 cents to USD 89.11/bbl. (Source: Bloomberg)

Taiwan: Export orders increase more than estimated
Taiwan’s export orders gained more than estimated, supporting the case for the central bank to raise borrowing costs this month for the third time since the start of the year. Orders, an indication of shipments in the next one to three months, increased 14.3% in November from a year earlier, after a 12.3% climb in October, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in Taipei today. The median estimate survey was for an advance of 13.3%. (Bloomberg)

South Korea: Imposes bank levy to reduce volatility
South Korea unveiled measures to guard against sudden capital outflows as military tensions with the North raised concerns investors will pull funds out of Asia’s fourth-largest economy. The government said yesterday it aims to apply a levy on banks’ foreign-exchange borrowings, will strengthen punishment for inappropriate reporting of currency trades and may tighten rules on derivatives. It is considering a 20 basis-point levy on overseas debt maturing in less than one year, Vice Finance Minister Yim Jong Yong said. (Bloomberg)

Spain: Regions’ nine-month budget deficit reaches 1.24% of GDP
Spanish regional governments posted a combined nine-month budget deficit of 1.24% of GDP, and the 17 regions will meet a full-year goal of a budget shortfall of 2.4% of GDP, the Finance Ministry said. Spanish regions, with EUR107.6bn (USD142bn) of outstanding debt, control health and education spending and hire half of all public workers. (Bloomberg)

UK: BOE forecast to raise interest rate within six months
The Bank of England will start raising interest rates within six months to curb inflation, the Confederation of British Industry said. The Monetary Policy Committee will increase its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point every three months from the second quarter of 2011 until mid-2012, the London-based group said. It will then step up the pace of increases to end that year with a rate of 2.75%. (Bloomberg)

20101221 0928 Malaysia Corporate News.

Supermax: ADR to broaden foreign interest in its share. Supermax Corporation Bhd has obtained approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission for its Sponsored Level-1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) programme which facilitates the trading of Supermax's shares by American investors. The Bank of New York Mellon would be the depository bank whilst Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) serves as the custodian of Supermax's shares in Malaysia. (Source: The Edge Financial Daily)

UEM Land, Sunrise: Takeover becomes unconditional, deadline extended. UEM Land's conditional take-over offer for Sunrise became unconditional after the acceptance has crossed the 50% threshold yesterday. The closing date and time for acceptance of the takeover has been extended to 5p.m. on Jan 7, 2011. (Source: The Edge Financial Daily)

MAS: Revamps fleet, adds capacity to India. Malaysia Airlines (MAS) plans to revamp its fleet and scale up operations to achieve 30 to 40% passenger growth in the Indian sector next year. MAS will switch from the B777, used at present, to the A380 aircraft to India by 2012. The carrier would also revamp its frequency to its regular destinations and allocate additional 40% capacity in India. (Source: Business Times)

RHB Capital: RHB Bank to hold Bank Mestika stake. Having consulted the relevant authorities, RHB Capital will now park its Bank Mestika stake under RHB Bank, from RHB Venture Capital previously. (Source: The Star)

Infrastructure: Plans for bridge between Malacca, Dumai. Malacca state government is seeking approval for the longest sea-crossing bridge connecting Malacca with Dumai in Sumatra from the federal government, while the Governor of Riau, Rusli Zainal, will attempt to secure Jakarta's approval. The proposed 127.9km highway costs USD12.8b (RM40.1b) and will be privately funded. Construction is expected to be completed in 10 years. The bridge will be built by Straits of Malacca Partners Sdn Bhd, with financial support guaranteed by China Exim Bank and other financial institutions. (Source: New Straits Times)       

RM26bn bid for PLUS
Little-known Jelas Ulung SB has made a late RM26bn offer to buy PLUS Expressways, just three days before the highway group's shareholders were due to vote on an existing bid. The offer by Jelas Ulung, rumored to be backed by Tan Sri Halim Saad, trumps a RM23bn joint bid by UEM Group and the EPF. Jelas Ulung director Tan Sri Ibrahim Mohd Zain, a former banker, declined to say who the shareholders of the company are. (BT)

MTD Capital gets RM1.1bn buyout offer
Datuk Nik Hussain Abdul Rahman, the group executive chairman of MTD Capital and parties aligned to him, are launching a RM1.1bn buyout offer for the country's second largest toll road operator. The offer values MTD at about RM2.6bn, or equivalent to RM9.50 a share. The company's shares were last traded last week at RM8.90, giving the company a market capitalization of RM2.4bn. (BT)

Iskandar Malaysia records RM64.4bn in investments
The total value of investments recorded by Iskandar Malaysia from the start of the development corridor project in 2006 until September 2010 was RM64.4bn. The amount far exceeded the RM47bn target set for this year, Iskandar Regional Development Authority CEO Ismail Ibrahim said. "We have annual targets. We started collecting information about investments in 2006. The final target we have set upon maturity in 2025 is RM382bn," he added. (StarBiz)

Bina Puri clinches RM157m infrastructure, housing job in Brunei
Bina Puri has secured an infrastructure and housing job in Brunei worth RM157m. the new project will push its order book for new projects to RM2.6bn, with its outstanding order book at RM3.3bn. (Financial Daily)

KPJ to open 4 new medical centers
KPJ Healthcare is on target to open four new medical centers by 2012 to add to its stable of 20 hospitals. It is expected to spend nearly RM500m on the hospitals in Bandar Baru Klang in Selangor, Pasir Gudang and Muar in Johor, and Sabah Medical Centre in Kota Kinabalu. Its MD Datin Paduka Siti Sa'diah Sheikh Bakir, said it had other hospitals in the pipeline but they would be built later. (BT)

Astro, TDC in fibre optic tie-up
Astro TV has found a channel to deliver its high-definition B.yond, Internet protocol television (IPTV) and videoon- demand (VOD) offerings to consumers in the Klang Valley and Penang with the signing of an agreement yesterday to lease fibre optic on Time dotCom network. It will use the latter's high-speed fibre optic network to deliver its entertainment and interactive content to users. Astro's IPTV/VOD offering is available to 11,400 homes as at yesterday and by end-2011, it will be extended to over 167,000 homes, covering 1,500 buildings. (StarBiz)

20101221 0858 Global Market Related News,

Oil climbs on weather, gasoline demand, tighter crude stocks
SINGAPORE, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose for the  third straight session on Tuesday, supported by cold weather  in the United States and Europe, seasonal gasoline demand, and  an expected drop in U.S. crude stocks.
"Oil prices are being driven by the oil product markets,  which have risen on driving demand for the Christmas season  and the cold in the north," Emori said. 

Wheat dips from 19-wk top, corn firm on Argentine weather
SINGAPORE, Dec 21 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures ticked  lower as investors moved in to book profit after  the market's climb to a 19-week top in the last session on  concerns over supplies next year.
"It is not surprising to see a little bit of profit  taking. You will see people unwind as Christmas is right  around the corner," said Brett Cooper, senior manager for  markets at FCStone Australia. "We are going to see some  slowdown and the volumes are not enormous."

La Nina may be at its peak, says Australia's weather bureau
SYDNEY, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The strongest La Nina weather  event in nearly half a century, resulting in heavy rains and  flooding which has damaged crops and flooded mines in  Australia and Asia, may be at its peak, the Australian weather  bureau said.
"Long-range models surveyed by the bureau suggest that this La Nina event may be at its peak and will persist through the southern hemisphere summer," the Bureau of Meteorology said in its weekly tropical climate note on Tuesday. 

Gold gains on Europe debt fears, euro vulnerable
SINGAPORE, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Gold firmed as  fears of further ratings downgrades in Europe spurred buying  from speculators, but demand from jewelers slowed to a  trickle in Asia, with most orders already filled before the  year-end holidays.
"The volume is light, so a little of buying will push up  gold. There's not too much sale of scrap at these levels. Next  year will be a good year again for gold," said Ronald Leung,  director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.

OIL: Oil steadies above $89, cold snap supports
SINGAPORE, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Oil was steady on Tuesday after rising for two consecutive sessions on seasonal demand and cold weather in the United States and Europe.
U.S. gasoline futures on Monday surged to an intra-day high of $2.3798 a gallon, the highest level since May. Prices, which were little changed on Tuesday, rallied on expectations for higher holiday driving demand and some supply tightness due to a refinery snag.

NATURAL GAS: Natural gas ends up 4 pct, cold outlook backs gains
NEW YORK, Dec 20 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures ended sharply higher on Monday, backed by colder 10-day weather forecasts for the Northeast and Midwest despite concerns about ample supplies.
"There's a lot of gas around, and some people expect the market at some point to be drowning in gas, but the (cold) weather forecasts don't justify lower prices right now," a Houston-based trader said, adding sellers should take back control at the next sign of moderating weather.

COMMODITY MARKETS: Broadly up, defying dollar, cotton jumps 3 pct
NEW YORK, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Commodities bucked a stronger dollar on Monday to rise broadly on book-squaring before the year-end and possible buying by those fearing sharper rallies in coming months.
"People are inclined this time of the year to square off positions they feel they have risk in and want to move away from, and I think that's what we're seeing," Sterling Smith, analyst at Country Hedging Inc. in St. Paul, Minnesota.

GLOBAL MARETS: Euro tumbles but stocks rise in choppy day
NEW YORK, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The euro fell broadly on Monday on fears of fresh credit rating downgrades in Europe but global stocks edged higher and a bond rally fizzled as hopes of future rallies in risky assets sparked choppy trading.
"Credit ratings are eroding across much of the common currency zone as debt continues to increase and economic growth remains anemic," said Karl Schamotta, senior market strategist at Western Union Business Solutions in Victoria, British Columbia.

China money inflows slow but remain big-c.bank data
SHANGHAI, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Capital flows into China slowed in November from a near record high in October, central bank data showed, which is expected to reduce the need for the People's Bank of China to conduct another imminent tightening.
The "Position for Forex Purchases" showed November inflows remained at a historically high level. To cushion the prospect that higher returns for funds will invite more speculative "hot money" into China, the central bank may resort to quantitative tools instead of interest rate increases in the medium term.

China again taps brakes on soaring land prices
BEIJING, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Beijing has again told local authorities to step up efforts to curb excessive land price increases that have contributed to higher housing prices.
The Ministry of Land and Resource has told local governments to "pay a close attention to real estate market movements and to firmly implement regulatory and control measures" as a way to cool down heated bidding for land.

US growth prospects look firmer as year end nears
WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is gathering steam as the year draws to a close, boosting optimism about prospects in 2011, according to measures published by two separate economic research firms on Friday.
The Conference Board's measure of leading economic indicators jumped 1.1 percent in November, the biggest rise since March and the fifth straight monthly gain.

PRECIOUS-Gold draws in safe-haven flows, up for second day
LONDON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Gold rose for a second day on Monday, overcoming the weakness in the euro after a warning from the European Central Bank on the region's finances encouraged light safe-haven flows into the metal.
Tensions on the Korean peninsula also fed the safe-haven bid for gold after an artillery firing drill by the South Korean military on a disputed island near the border with the North.

FOREX-Debt unease slams euro to all-time low vs CHF
LONDON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The euro hit an all-time low against the Swiss franc and struggled versus the dollar on Monday as investors looked for more aggressive solutions from European leaders to the euro zone's debt problems.
The shared currency  fell to 1.2701 Swiss francs according to electronic trading platform EBS, its weakest since the euro's launch in 1999 as investors sought a safe haven in the Swiss currency.

Wheat up 1 pct on supply concerns, corn firm
SINGAPORE, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat futures rose  more than 1 percent on Monday, taking the monthly gains to  around 18 percent as weather concerns in top exporters United  States and Australia continued to underpin the market.
"There is some follow-through buying in the corn market  after (analytical firm) Informa pulled their acres  estimate...it is really setting the stage for what we are  looking over the next 12 months and that is significant focus  on fight for acres," said  Luke Matthews, a commodity  strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

China plans $15 bln funding boost for grain output
BEIJING, Dec 18 (Reuters) - China plans to spend more than 100 billion yuan ($15 billion) over the next five years to upgrade farmland and add 50 million tonnes of annual grain production capacity, Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.
"On one hand, we need to protect the arable land base for grain security; on the other hand, we need to satisfy land use for economic development," Xinhua quoted Minister of Land and Resources Xu Shaoshi as saying. "It is a dilemma."

Mexico sees 2011 corn output up 3.3 pct yr/yr
MEXICO CITY, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Mexico sees its corn output rising 3.3 percent in 2011 compared with the expected production for this year, Agriculture Minister Francisco Mayorga said on Friday.
Mexico is seen producing 25 million tonnes of corn next year, up from an estimated output of 24.2 million for 2010.

Informa cuts US 2011 corn acres f'cast; soy higher
CHICAGO, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Analytical firm Informa Economics lowered its forecast of U.S. corn plantings for 2011 and added acres to its soybean forecast, citing rising projected returns for new-crop soybeans, trade sources said on Friday.
The firm, based in Memphis, Tennessee, estimated that U.S. farmers would plant 90.755 million acres of corn in 2011, down from its November figure of 93.1 million.

World stocks steady; euro hits 2-week low
LONDON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - World stocks held steady below a recent two-year high on Monday while the euro hit a two-week low as concerns over the euro zone debt crisis persisted following last week's Irish rating downgrade. "The ratings change at the end of last week is still keeping the euro under selling pressure," said Carl Hammer, currency strategist at SEB in Stockholm.

20101221 0857 Soy Oil & Palm Oil Related News.

Soy product futures rallied in step with soybeans. Soyoil futures climbed, recouping some value in the crush spread on strong global vegoil demand and spillover support from crude oil prices, analysts said. Soymeal was buoyed by strength in soybeans and supportive feed outlooks amid cold, snowy central U.S. weather conditions, analysts said. CBOT Jan soyoil ended 0.85c or 1.6% higher at 54.98 cents per pound, and Jan soymeal traded $3.70 or 1.1% higher at $351.50 a short ton. (Source: CME)

Palm flat as market split on low supply, weak demand
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil  futures gained slightly on Monday as traders bet year-end  stocks may reach the lowest in four years despite a cargo  surveyor showing a slowdown in exports.  "Lower exports may give some pressure but traders are  talking about end-year stocks staying really tight for January  and maybe in February," said a trader with a foreign brokerage.
Dryness hits Argentina's top soy region - govt
BUENOS AIRES, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Soy crops in Argentina's top growing province Buenos Aires are taking a hit from dryness, while damp soils allowed farmers to continue sowing in other provinces, the government said on Friday.
Argentina is the world's No. 3 soybean exporter and the government has forecast 2010/11 area at 18.7 million hectares (46.20 million acres), slightly above last season despite a bigger corn area. Corn and soy compete for acreage.

Canada farmers get funds to ease feed shortages after rains
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Canada and the provincial government of Manitoba will compensate livestock farmers who face feed shortages this winter after a wet growing season.
The governments said Friday that farmers could tap funding to pay some of their costs of transporting livestock and feed, as well as money to help them buy feed to sustain breeding stock.