U.S. stock-index futures tip strong open for Wall Street

U.S. stock-index futures sat solidly higher late Thursday, suggesting a strong open for Wall Street after a pullback in the previous session. 

About 11 hours ahead of the start of Friday trade, futures for the S&P 500 SPX, -1.03% Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.89% and Nasdaq 100 all traded at levels implying 0.5% opening gains for each. In previous trading Wednesday, ahead of the New Year's Day break, the S&P 500 fell 1%, while the Nasdaq Composite COMP, -0.87% and Dow industrials each closed with a 0.9% loss. 

Oil moves higher to trim year-end losses

New York-traded crude-oil futures managed to recoup some losses in electronic trade early Friday, though rival Brent North Sea crude saw only a modest gain.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude futures for February CLG5, +1.11%   improved by 58 cents, or 1.1%, to $53.85 a barrel on Globex, trimming its 1.6% drop in the previous New York Mercantile Exchange session Wednesday.

But London-traded February Brent crude LCOG5, +0.42%   rose a slimmer 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $57.46 a barrel, after having lost 1.8% on Wednesday.

KLSE IForex Recommendations

TRADING TIPS :

USD/JPY hit 119.19 during European early afternoon trade, the pair’s lowest since December 19; the pair subsequently consolidated at 119.51, retreating 0.94%.The dollar remained broadly supported after final data last week showed that U.S. gross domestic product rose 5.0% in the third quarter, exceeding expectations for a growth rate of 4.3% and up from 3.9% in the three months to June.The strong data fuelled further optimism over the strength of the U.S. economic recovery and added to expectations for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next year.Separately, markets were jittery after Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Monday that he will recommend parliamentary elections are held on January 25, almost 18 months before his coalition’s term was due to end.



INTRADAY OUTLOOK
Support: 119.63
Resistance: 120.21

RECOMMENDATION:
1. Buy USD/JPY Above 120.21-TG:120.41/120.71 SL 119.91
2. Sell USD/JPY Below 119.60-TG:119.40/119.10 SL 119.90

INTRADAY OUTLOOK
Immediate Support: 1.2083
Immediate Resistance: 1.2161

RECOMMENDATION:
1. Buy EUR/USD Above 1.2165-TG:1.2185/1.2215 SL 1.2135
2. Sell EUR/USD Below 1.2080-TG:1.2060/1.2030 SL 1.2110

KLSE Stock Recommendations

MARKET UPDATES :

Malaysia’s economy, which is expected to be moderate next year due to decelerating domestic demand, would    likely be cushioned by its stable labour market.Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd (MARC) said in a note today that the stable employment market could help prevent a sharp drop in spending.“In addition, the sharp decline in oil prices may cushion the blow on consumers as businesses may choose to defer the price increase of certain goods and services,” it said.MARC expected a downtrend in Malaysia’s headline gross domestic product growth in 2015 to 4.7 per cent from its 2014 estimation of 5.8 per cent growth.

STOCK RECOMMENDATION :

BUY GREEN PACKET ABOVE 0.330 TARGET 0.360 0.410 SL 0.290

Current Market Update

Here are the latest trading levels for Asia's major stock markets:

 Tokyo (Nikkei Average) closed for holiday 

 Hong Kong (Hang Seng Index) up 0.8% 

 Shanghai (Shanghai Composite Index) closed for holiday 

Sydney (S&P/ASX 200) up 0.5% 

 Seoul (Kospi) up 0.3% 

Mumbai (Sensex) up 0.2% 

 Taipei (Taiex) closed for holiday