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MARKET UPDATES :
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) is likely to maintain its overnight policy rate (OPR) at 3.25 per cent into 2016, said Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Ratings Services. In a statement today, the rating agency also revised Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 4.6 per cent in 2015 and 5.0 per cent in 2016, from an earlier estimate of 5.5 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively.The revision was made in light of an anticipated further decline in oil prices since its last forecasting exercise, said S&P.
STOCK RECOMMENDATION :
BUY CREST BUILDER ABOVE 1.205 TARGET 1.250 1.320 SL 1.155
INTERNATIONAL COMMODITY NEWS :
Gold prices gained in Asia on Wednesday as investors focused on Chinese New Year demand and continued a buying trend seen overnight in the U.S. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery rose 0.13% to trade at $1,261.90 a troy ounce. Overnight, gold edged higher on Tuesday, as market players looked ahead to the release of key U.S. data later in the week for further indications on the strength of the economy and the future path of monetary policy. Optimism over the health of the U.S. economy weakened after data on Monday showed that U.S. consumer spending fell at the fastest rate since September 2009 in December. Separate reports showed that U.S. construction spending rose less than expected in December, while manufacturing growth slowed. The disappointing numbers came after data last week that showed the U.S. economy grew by a weaker than-expected 2.6% in the fourth quarter, slowing sharply from growth of 5.0% in the preceding quarter.
TRADING STRATEGY :
BUY GOLD ABOVE 1268 TARGET 1273 1279 SL 1262
SELL GOLD BELOW 1255 TARGET 1250 1244 SL 1261
The U.S. dollar slumped versus major rivals Tuesday, as worries about Greece’s debt woes eased.
The ICE dollar index DXY, -0.04% a measure of the U.S. unit against a basket of six major rivals, fell 0.9% to 93.685.
The euro EURUSD, -0.05% rose to $1.1468, up from $1.1341 on Monday, on signs the standoff between the new Greek government and its creditors could soon come to an end.
the pound GBPUSD, +0.01% climbed to $1.5151, up from $1.5039 on Monday.
Natural gas for March delivery NGH15, +0.47% rose 2 cents, or 0.6%, to $2.77 per million British thermal units, building on a 7-cent gain the day before.
Nymex gasoline for March RBH5, -0.86% lost 2 cents, or 1%, to $1.58 a gallon, with the API data reportedly showing a rise in gasoline stocks of 2 million barrels last week.
