Oil holds on to rebound, rallies more than 4%

Oil futures rallied Friday, shaking off sharp losses earlier in the day and rebounding from their lowest settlement in more than five years.

Light, sweet crude futures for January delivery CLF5, +5.17%  rose $2.42, or 4.4%, to finish at $56.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude for February delivery on London’s ICE Futures exchange LCOG5, +4.86%  rose $2.11, or 3.6%, to $61.38 a barrel. On the week, Brent lost 1.2%, also its fourth straight weekly loss.

Gold edges up Friday, but loses 2.2% for the week

Gold prices edged up Friday yet still suffered a 2.2% drop for the week, staying under the closely-watched level of $1,200.

Gold for February delivery GCG5, -0.03%  inched higher by $1.20, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,196.00 an ounce. March silver SIH5, +0.82% gained 10 cents, or 0.6%, to end at $16.03 an ounce.

Market Closing Update

MALAYSIAN shares ended higher on Friday with the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index adding 16.04 points to close at 1,715.99.

Some 1.87 billion lots, valued at RM2.21 billion were traded. Gainers numbered 606 while losers numbered 257.

KLSE IForex Recommendations

TRADING TIPS :

EUR/USD was down 0.49% to 1.2281, closing in on the two year low of 1.2246 struck on December 8. The dollar rallied after the Fed said it would be “patient” before raising rates, guidance which it said is consistent with earlier assurances statement that rates would stay low “for a considerable time.”The central bank acknowledged the improvement in the U.S. labor market and noted that the economy is making progress toward its goals in inflation and employment.At the bank’s post policy meeting press conference Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the Fed was unlikely to raise rates for the “next couple of meetings” indicating that a move in April at the earliest is possible.



INTRADAY OUTLOOK
Support: 1.2280
Resistance: 1.2351

RECOMMENDATION:
1. Buy EUR/USD Above 1.2353-TG:1.2373/1.2403 SL 1.2323
2. Sell EUR/USD Below 1.2278-TG:1.2258/1.2228 SL 1.2308

INTRADAY OUTLOOK
Immediate Support: 1.5615
Immediate Resistance: 1.5677

RECOMMENDATION:
1. Buy GBP/USD Above 1.5680-TG:1.5700/1.5730 SL 1.5650
2. Sell GBP/USD Below 1.5612-TG:1.5592/1.5562 SL 1.5642

KLSE Stock Recommendations

MARKET UPDATES :

Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) unitholders will receive 7.50 sen dividend per unit for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2014 compared with 7.70 sen declared last year.The wholly-owned subsidiary of Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) also announced that 8.60 million unitholders would also receive a bonus of 1.00 sen per unit.PNB Chairman Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid said the unitholders collectively held 137.07 billion ASB units.



STOCK RECOMMENDATION :
BUY ASTR MALAYSIA ABOVE 2.940 TARGET 2.980 3.060 SL 2.890