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Asian markets extended their rally this week, while the euro edged up marginally ahead of a much-anticipated European Central Bank policy meeting.
For a second straight session Japanese shares bucked the regional trend as a third day of gains on Wall Street was overshadowed by a pick-up in the yen against the dollar.
Hong Kong added 0.52 per cent, Sydney added 0.59 per cent, Seoul put on 0.34 percent and Shanghai put on 0.50 per cent, but Tokyo eased 0.10 per cent.
Eyes are firmly on the meeting later Thursday of the ECB, with expectations high that it will unveil a programme of asset-purchasing, or quantitative easing (QE) similar to that recently ended in the United States.
MALAYSIA share prices opened lower on Thursday with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index down 2.35 points to 1767.74.
Volume was 47.54 million lots worth RM16.24 million.
Gainers outnumbered losers 121 to 42.
MALAYSIAN shares ended higher on Wednesday with the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index adding 19.98 points to close at 1,770.09.
Some 2.16 billion lots, valued at RM2.45 billion were traded. Gainers numbered 559 while losers numbered 287.
TRADING TIPS :
GBP/USD hit 1.5144 during European morning trade, the pair’s lowest since January 8; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7656, rising 0.28%.Cable was likely to find support at 1.5032, the low of January 8 and an 18- month low and resistance at 1.5236, the high of January 16.The dollar remained broadly supported after the Swiss National Bank shocked markets last Thursday by abandoning its three-year old 1.20 per euro exchange rate cap. Meanwhile, sentiment on the pound remained vulnerable after data last week showed that the annual rate of consumer inflation in the U.K. slowed to 0.5% last month from 1.0% in November. The slowdown in inflation underlined expectations that the Bank of England will keep interest rates on hold at record lows for most of this year.
INTRADAY OUTLOOK
Support: 1.5117
Resistance: 1.5172
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Buy GBP/USD Above 1.5175-TG: 1.5195/1.5225 SL 1.5145
2. Sell GBP/USD Below 1.5114-TG: 1.5094/1.5064 SL 1.5144
INTRADAY OUTLOOK
Immediate Support: 1.1566
Immediate Resistance: 1.1620
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Buy EUR/USD Above -1.1622 TG: 1.1642/1.1672 SL 1.1592
2. Sell EUR/USD Below -1.1564 TG:1.1544/1.1514 SL 1.1594
Monetary-policy expectations were the dominant drivers of the foreign-exchange market Tuesday, as traders sold euros, yen and Canadian dollars and bought the greenback ahead of central-bank meetings in Canada, Japan and Europe later in the week.
The dollar USDJPY, -0.80% traded at ¥118.7710 in recent trade, its highest level against the yen in a week, down from ¥117.81 Monday afternoon.
The U.S. dollar USDCAD, -0.11% traded as high as 1.2115 Canadian dollars, compared with 1.20 Canadian Monday.
The euro EURUSD, +0.23% traded at $1.1554, compared with $1.16 Monday afternoon. It hit an 11-year low around $1.1480 Monday.
The Swiss franc traded slightly higher against both of its major rivals. It was at EURCHF, -0.64% 1.0107 francs per euro, compared with 1.02 Monday afternoon. One dollar bought USDCHF, -0.88% 0.8775 francs, compared with 0.88 francs Monday.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.21% a measure of the dollar’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six rival currencies, was up 0.52% on the day to 93.0000.
