Friday, February 11, 2011

20110211 1817 FCPO EOD Daily Chart Study.

FCPO closed : 3955, changed : 29 points, volume : lower.
Bollinger band reading : correction range bound upside biased.
MACD Histrogram : rising, buyer in control.
Support : 3950, 3920, 3900 level.
Resistance : 4000, 4070, 4120 level.
Comment :
FCPO closed recorded gain with much lower volume transacted ahead of changing month as tight supply concern remained a factor to watch while soy oil rebounding higher after overnight closed lower.
Daily chart formed an up bar candle after market opened gap down and recovered upward to closed near the high of the day with the reading suggesting a correction range bound upside biased market development. 
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.

20110211 1722 FKLI EOD Daily Chart Study.

FKLI closed : 1487.5 changed : -4 points,  volume : lower.
Bollinger band reading : downside biased.
MACD Histrogram : falling, seller in control.
Support : 1485, 1470, 1458 level.
Resistance : 1500, 1515, 1530 level.
Comment :
FKLI continue to trade weaker recorded loss with lower volume traded doing 7 points discount compare to cash market while regional market ended mixed ahead of the weekend with Egypt political condition persist.
Daily chart formed a down doji candle after market opened gap up, rebounded higher and resume downward movement to closed lower positioned near lower Bollinger band level with the bandwidth continue to expand further. Reading wise, downside biased market development remained unchanged but with potential upward pullback correction.
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.

20110211 1609 Local & Global Economic Related News.

Malaysia: Dec IPI grows 4.2% on rising non-E&E activities
The country's industrial output expanded 4.2% in December compared to a year ago, on increased manufacturing activities in the non-electrical and electronic (E&E) sector. E&E makes up about 40% of the export market. The Statistics Department said for the whole year, industrial output activities had increased by 7.5% y-o-y, with manufacturing posting a 11% growth while electricity generation rose by 8.8%. The output of the mining sector, however, slipped by 0.5%. (BT)

Malaysia: India-Malaysia trade volume seen doubling in 5 years
The trade volume between India and Malaysia is expected to double in five years with the signing next week of a three-in-one free trade agreement (FTA). Indian High Commissioner to Malaysia Vijay Gokhale, when disclosing this during his first visit to Sabah, said this was inevitable because tariffs would then be lower. Trade volume between the two countries was worth around RM32bn last year. (Financial Daily)

UK: Bank of England maintains aid as inflation accelerates
The Bank of England kept up emergency stimulus as officials tolerated the prospect of inflation accelerating to a two-year high to nurture Britain’s economic recovery. The Monetary Policy Committee, led by Governor Mervyn King, left the benchmark interest rate at a record low of 0.5%, as forecast by all 62 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. They also left their bond program at GBP200bn (USD321bn), as predicted by all 38 economists in a separate poll. (Bloomberg)

US: Initial jobless claims fell 36,000 to 383,000
The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment insurance fell to the lowest level since July 2008, showing further strength in the labor market after the jobless rate declined to a 21-month low. Applications for jobless benefits decreased by 36,000, more than forecast, to 383,000, Labor Department figures showed. Economists forecast claims would fall to 410,000, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. (Bloomberg)

US: Mortgage rates for US loans rise to 10-month high
US mortgage rates climbed to a 10-month high, reducing affordability for homebuyers as the housing market struggles to recover from depressed levels. The average rate for a 30-year fixed loan rose to 5.05% from 4.81%, the fourth straight gain, Freddie Mac said in a statement. The average 15-year rate increased to 4.29% from 4.08%. (Bloomberg)

U.S: Wholesale inventories in December rise more than forecast as distributors tried to keep up with improving sales. The 1% MoM increase in stockpiles followed an unchanged reading in November. Sales grew 0.4% MoM to USD 371.5b, the highest level since August 2008. (Source: Bloomberg)

U.K: Manufacturing unexpectedly declined in December as economic activity was hampered by the coldest weather seen in the month in a century. Factory output fell 0.1% MoM from November, when it rose 0.6% MoM. That's the first decline since April. (Source: Bloomberg)

China: To spend USD 2b to fight drought, boost grain output. China, the world's biggest grains consumer, will spend CNY 12.9b (USD 1.96 b) to bolster grain production and fight drought, China Central Television reported, citing Premier Wen Jiabao. The country should use reserves, imports and exports to balance the grain market and is able to keep overall consumer prices basically stable, CCTV cited Wen as saying. (Source: Bloomberg)

Thailand: Consumer confidence in January rises on wages, subsidies. An index measuring sentiment climbed to 72.6 last month from 71.9 in December, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said. The gauge is based on a survey of 2,240 respondents. (Source: Bloomberg)

Australia: Employers add more workers in January than forecasted. Employment climbed by 24,000 as the jobless rate stayed at 5%, matching the lowest level since 2008. Part-time jobs sparked the rise, with full-time positions dropping. (Source: Bloomberg)  

20110211 1608 Malaysia Corporate Related News.

Mubarak is set to turn over power
President Hosni Mubarak will meet the demands of the protestors, military and ruling party officials said Thursday in the strongest indication yet that Egypt’s long-time president may be about to give up power and that the armed forces were seizing control. Gen Hassan al-Roueini, military commander for the Cairo area, told thousands of protestors in central Tahrir Square, “All your demands will be met today.” The military supreme council was meeting Thursday, without the commander in chief, Mr. Mubarak, and announced on state TV its “support of the legitimate demands of the people.” A spokesman read a statement that the council was in permanent session to explore “what measures and arrangement could be made to safeguard the nation, its achievement and the ambitions of the great people”. The head of the ruling party, Hossam Badrawi, told The Associated Press that he expects that Mr Mubarak will “address the people tonight to respond to protestors demands.” (International Herald Tribune)

Dayang gets RM802m service contract from Petronas Carigali
Oil and gas firm Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd has secured a five-year service contact from Petronas Carigali SB (PCSB) estimated to be worth about RM802m. The Sarawak-based company said the contract is a ‘call-up contract’ made up of work orders, which will be awarded at the discretion of PCSB during the duration of the contract, and the values of the work orders are based on the contract schedule of rates, it said in a filing to the exchange yesterday. The contract for the provision of topside structural maintenance services for PCSB’s Sarawak, Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia operations will run from 2 Feb 2011 to 1 Feb 2016.(Malaysian Reserve)

Suitors up offer for MTD Cap to RM11 a share
The major shareholders of MTD Capital Bhd (MTC Cap) that had proposed to take over the company for RM9.50 ash per share previously have revised their offer to RM11 cash per share. In MTD Cap said it had received notice of the revised offer from Maybank Investment Bank Bhd, the financial adviser to the joint offerors Nikvest SB, Alloy Consolidated SB, Alloy Concrete Engineering Consolidated SB and Alloy Capital SB. The joint offerors, which are also the major shareholders of MTD Cap, are the private investment vehicles of Datuk Nik Hussain Abdul Rahman and Datuk Azmil Khalili, the group executive chairman and president, and CEO of MTD Cap, respectively. (Financial Daily)

Ann Joo eyes more Malaysia, foreign steel mills
Steel maker Ann Joo Resources Bhd is continuously looking at opportunities to buy other steel mills both locally and overseas to expand. Yesterday, Ann Joo signed a deal to raise RM500m from a bond sale to finance its investment in a blast furnace project. The blast furnace plant, the first of its kind in the country and the second in Asia after Thailand, will increase its production capacity to 1.1m tonnes from 800,000 tonnes a year. The plant is 95% completed and is targeted to start production by April this year. It consist of a 450m3 blast furnace and 75m3 sintering plant, in addition to an upgraded electric arc furnace. The new upgraded plant would help Ann Joo save 40 per cent of its electricity costs. It would also have the capacity and technology to switch between iron ore, coke and scrap, depending on the market's raw material prices. (BT)

Magnum relisting put on hold
Contrary to wide market expectations, Multi-Purpose Holdings Bhd (MPHB)'s plan to relist its numbers forecast operator (NFO) Magnum Corp Bhd has been put on hold, as the company shifts its focus to reformatting its business structure. “There is no plan to relist Magnum for the time being,” MPHB managing director Datuk Surin Upatkoon said in reply to a StarBiz query. Following its proposed acquisition of the balance 49% stake it does not already own in Magnum Holdings SB on Wednesday, MPHB in a statement expressed its intention to make gaming its core business, while it would work towards the rationalisation of its non-core assets such as insurance and stockbroking through a divestment programme. It gave no hint of the widely expected relisting of Magnum shares on Bursa Malaysia. (StarBiz)

O&G: Petronas confident oil business won't be affected by split in Sudan. Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is confident its oil business in Sudan would not be affected after the people of Southern Sudan, where the oil fields are sited, voted for independence last month. (Source: The Star)

Plantation: FTA with India will boost Malaysia palm oil sector. Next week's free trade agreement (FTA) signing between Malaysia and India will be a further boost for the country's palm oil sector and Sabah, in particular, stands to benefit. India would be reducing duties on palm oil as part of the FTA, which will make it easier for Malaysian palm oil players to export to India. (Source: The Star)

Plantation: January CPO output lowest in 12 months. Malaysian crude palm oil (CPO) output fell 14.18% or 174,791 tonnes to 1.057m tones in January, from 1.232m tones in December 2010, according to Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB). This represents the lowest in 12 months. (Source: The Edge Financial Daily)  

20110211 1558 Global Market Related News.

China regional banks told to hike reserves: report
China's central bank has ordered some small and medium-sized banks to raise their reserves in the latest in a series of such hikes aimed at reining in inflation, according to state media.

Crude oil gains after Mubarak speech
PERTH, Feb 11 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures rose after Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak said he would transfer the reins of power to his vice president, but would not step down.
The speech sparked more worries that Egypt's unrest would spread across the Middle East and disrupt oil supply movement, pushing March crude oil futures up by more than a dollar in early trading.  

U.S. wheat up after sharp decline; soy, corn steady
SINGAPORE, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat futures rose around half a percent ,while soybeans were little changed after sliding from 2-1/2 year highs in the previous session on disappointing U.S. weekly export sales.
"For corn, there is more strength coming in as there was impressive exports report from USDA yesterday and buyers are worried about lower stocks," said Ker Chung Yang, commodities analyst at Singapore-based Phillip Futures.

Argentine corn, soy output seen steady - exchange
BUENOS AIRES, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Plentiful rains in January improved Argentina's 2010/11 soy crop and the output outlook is stable at 47 million tonnes, Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said Thursday.
Argentina is the world's third-largest exporte

US govt hands may be tied on ethanol-USDA official
PALM BEACH, Florida, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. government has few options to slow down the ethanol boom that has played a big role in drawing down corn supplies to their lowest level in 15 years, a top U.S. Agriculture Department official said on Thursday.
"The fact is the industry has pretty much been built," USDA Chief Economist Joe Glauber told reporters on the sidelines of a Commodity Markets Council conference. "This isn't a question of just saying 'cut it off.' It's much more complicated than that."

Canada proposes July 1 start for biodiesel rule
OTTAWA, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Canada is proposing a July 1 start date for requiring 2 percent renewable content in all diesel fuel and heating oil, the government said on Thursday.
Canada's renewable fuels regulations, published in September 2010, already require an average of 5 percent renewable content in gasoline.

Gold regains strength, physical buyers scarce
SINGAPORE, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Gold regained strength after easing in the previous session, but a drop in ETF holdings to their lowest since late January, a firm U.S. dollar and a lacklustre physical market could cap its gains.
"There's not much going on in terms of demand in the physical market. That's why there are some stocks kept here. (People) try to sell them immediately," said Dick Poon, manager of precious metals at Heraus in Hong Kong, referring to physical supply.

Asia shares set for worst weekly drop in 9 months
HONG KONG, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell and were on course for their biggest weekly loss in nine months, as investors shunned risk on concerns about the pace of policy tightening within the region and escalating tensions in Egypt.
Pressure on emerging market equities may well, therefore, continue while uncertainties about the intensity, duration and effect of the ongoing tightening cycle remain alive," Barclays strategists said in a weekly note.

OIL:Crude oil gains after Mubarak speech
PERTH, Feb 11 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures rose on Friday after Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak said he would transfer the reins of power to his vice president, but would not step down.
The speech sparked more worries that Egypt's unrest would spread across the Middle East and disrupt oil supply movement, pushing March crude oil futures up by more than a dollar in early trading.

COMMODITIES:Up despite firmer dollar, Egypt uncertainty
NEW YORK, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Commodities rose on Thursday, as metals and some crops defied a firmer dollar, but oil gave back gains after unfounded reports that President Hosni Mubarak may quit led to speculation that unrest might ease in Egypt.
"Inflationary pressure stemming from stronger demand for commodities may pick up," it said.

GLOBAL MARKETS:Asian shares ease to 2-month lows, euro weakens
HONG KONG, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Asian shares slipped to two-month lows on Friday as investors were wary of adding risk due to rising uncertainty in Egypt while the euro came under pressure due to renewed concerns on the euro zone's debt crisis.
"Any easy gains in the EUR are susceptible to rapid reversal," said David Watt, senior currency strategist at RBC Dominion Securities.

China Seeks To Ease Fears Over Food
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao sought to calm global concerns about the impact of severe droughts on China's grain output and inflation, saying the country's supply of grain is basically in balance with demand and reiterating the government's confidence that it can keep prices under control. Mr. Wen's public assurances, reported on state television Thursday, come ahead of next week's release of official January inflation data by the National Bureau of Statistics, expected to show that consumer prices rose at their fastest pace in over two years. Mr. Wen told a meeting Thursday of the State Council, China's highest administrative body, that stabilizing the production of grain and other crops is key to maintaining price stability and even social stability in China.
"We are confident that we have the ability to promote the stable development of agricultural products, to ensure the effective supply of agricultural products, especially grain, and to maintain the overall basic stability of goods prices," Mr. Wen was quoted as saying. On Tuesday, a United Nations agency warned that severe drought conditions are putting this year's wheat crop at risk in at least five Chinese provinces -- five provinces that account for about two-thirds of the country's total wheat production. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's current forecast, which isn't scheduled to be updated until May, puts China's wheat reserves this year at 60 million metric tons. Drought is adding to the already serious problem of inflation in China, which has been primarily driven by rising food prices for the past several months. According to the median forecast of economists polled earlier by Dow Jones Newswires, the consumer-price index for January will show a rise of 5.4% from a year earlier.
That would be the fastest pace of inflation since the 6.3% CPI of July 2008. Nonfood-price rises also likely accelerated in January, economists said, indicating that inflation pressures are spreading through the economy. On Tuesday, China's central bank, the People's Bank of China, raised benchmark lending and interest rates for the third time since October in a bid to get inflation pressures under control. The central government recently arranged 12.9 billion yuan ($1.96 billion) in funds to fight drought and support grain production, Mr. Wen said. On Wednesday the State Council issued a 10-point plan pledging small amounts of cash to irrigate wheat fields, plant wheat and corn and treat crop disease, as well as a $180 million fund to buy equipment and more than $1 billion for drought alleviation. In hitting major wheat-producing areas, the developing drought is posing a "direct" threat to China's summer grain production, Mr. Wen said.
He added that the government should give irrigation subsidies to farmers as soon as possible. Rare snowfall was seen this week in northern China. Beijing had its first snow of the winter, ending a string of 108 days without precipitation. It was the latest snowfall seen in the season in 60 years. But the National Meteorological Center was cited by the state-run Xinhua news agency as saying that the snow was unlikely to relieve the parched wheat-growing regions.

PRECIOUS-Gold dips below $1,360/oz as dollar strengthens
LONDON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Gold eased below $1,360 an ounce in Europe on Thursday as the rising dollar pressured prices, and with Asian buying still light after the Lunar New Year holidays.
The metal has fluctuated between $1,340 and $1,370 this week, awaiting fresh direction. While there are currently few incentives to buy gold, given improving appetite for higher risk assets, few investors seem prepared to sell heavily.

FOREX-Euro hit by doubts over policy measures
LONDON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The euro slipped against the dollar on Thursday as nagging doubts over a lack of concrete policy measures to tackle the euro zone debt crisis hit sentiment and pushed peripheral debt yields up.
Traders said an Asian sovereign account sold euros persistently from the European open. An east-European sovereign name was also seen selling.

20110211 1556 Soy Oil & Palm Oil Related News.

Palm off 3-year high; tight supply concerns remain
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures ended off three-year highs hit earlier as traders booked some profits after a slew of industry data showed tight vegetable oil supplies at a time when demand has picked up.
"There is general strength in the market even though some players have taken profits. Exports are doing very well and we could see a further stock draw this month," said a trader with a local commodities brokerage.

Area, rains push Brazil soy crop to record - gov't
SAO PAULO, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Brazil raised its official view for the new soybean crop into record territory due to a greater planted area and better weather than previously expected, which falls in line with a trend in independent forecasters.
The 2010/11 soybean crop was projected at a record 70.1 million tonnes, up from the 68.55 million tonnes forecast in January, the government's crop supply agency Conab said Wednesday.

Palm oil deficit in 2011; upward price momentum -SMART
JAKARTA, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Rains and flooding coupled with robust emerging market demand, will push the global palm oil market into deficit this year, keeping upward pressure on prices, palm oil giant SMART said on Wednesday.
Palm oil output has been hit by seasonally heavy rains in recent months, stalling harvesting by top Southeast Asian producers and helping push benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures to three-year highs at 3,948 ringgit ($1,301) a tonne.