NST Online Business Times : latest

Posted: 02 Jan 2013 06:48 PM PST

Share prices on Bursa Malaysia soared this morning prompting the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) to hit new highs three minutes apart, on the second trading day in the New Year, driven by buying interest mostly seen in selected heavyweights and bluechips, dealers said.

It hit a new high of 1,689.37 points at 9.05 am and rose, unabated, to hit another new high at 1,690.82 three minutes later.

However, at 9.53 am, the FBM KLCI retreated to 1,687.77, but still 12.05 points higher than yesterday's close of 1,674.72.

HwangDBS Vickers Research Sdn Bhd said Wall Street reacted positively to the legislative passing of the budget deal, which prevented the adverse impact of the so-called fiscal cliff hitting the world's largest economy.

Its key equity indices jumped between 2.4 per cent and 3.1 per cent at the closing bell last night, the research house said in a note.

"We may see laggards like our Malaysian bourse playing catching up ahead. On the chart, the benchmark KLCI could rise towards its immediate resistance threshold of 1,685," it said of what to expect on the local front.

The Finance Index jumped 68.22 points to 15,310.59, the Industrial Index improved 21.24 points to 2,788.12 and the Plantation Index advanced 44.19 points to 8,239.94.

The FBM Emas Index surged 80.74 points to 11,440.54, the FBMT100 gained 82.47 points to 11,300.96, the FBM Mid 70 Index improved 67.74 points to 12,362.04 and the FBM Ace Index increased 19.35 points to 4,221.46.

Gainers led losers 278 to 94, with 219 counters unchanged, 1,044 untraded and 18 others were suspended. Volume was thin at 217.331 million shares worth RM168.862 million.

Among actives, Flonic Hi-Tec-warrants and Luster Industries were both unchanged at five sen and 10.5 sen, respectively, while Flonic Hi-Tec added 1.5 sen to 9.5 sen.

Axiata, which contributed 3.176 points to the FBM KLCI's rise, rose 20 sen to RM6.78.

Other heavyweights, Maybank added two sen to RM9.05, Sime Darby edged up three sen to RM9.49 and CIMB gained five sen to RM7.65. -- Bernama

US stocks soar on fiscal cliff deal

Posted: 02 Jan 2013 03:44 PM PST

NEW YORK: US stocks took off flying on the first trading day of the new year Wednesday after Congress reached a last-minute deal to avert the fiscal cliff, avoiding forcing the economy back into recession.

The S&P 500 soared 2.5 per cent, its best rise since December 20, 2011, as traders shrugged off the spectre that a new deficit fight between Democrats and Republicans was just weeks away to go on a buying spree.

The Dow Jones Industrial Index closed up 308.41 points (2.35 per cent) at 13,412.55.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 36.23 (2.54 per cent) at 1,462.42, while the Nasdaq outperformed with a 92.75 point gain, or 3.07 per cent, to 3,112.26.

The surge, which saw a number of blue-chip companies racking up three per cent-plus gains, wrapped up an extraordinary new year run on global bourses, all encouraged that Washington would avoid the growth-crunching tax hikes and spending cuts of the cliff.

"It may have come at the last minute, but US lawmakers finally managed to find some common ground by voting through a package of policies designed to avoid the immediate fiscal cliff," noted ETX Capital trader Joe Rundle.

Also helping was positive purchasing managers index data for manufacturing in China, India and the United States, while eurozone activity remained in contraction.

Among leading companies, AT&T rose 3.8 per cent, Microsoft 3.4 per cent, Apple 3.2 per cent, and IBM 2.5 per cent.

Auto-sharing service Zipcar roared 47.8 per cent higher after car-rental giant Avis announcing plans to buy it in a deal valued at US$500 million. Avis rose 4.8 per cent.

Boeing rose 2.3 per cent after announcing an order from leasing company Aviation Capital Group for 60 of its new 737 MAX jetliners, a deal worth US$6 billion at current list prices.

Fresh food and fruit giant Dole plunged 13.4 per cent, hit by a statement that its global banana business could suffer due to the huge impact that December's Typhoon Bopha had on the Philippine banana crop.

"The current estimated impact to the Asian banana industry is a loss of 30 million 13-kilo boxes, which is approximately 14 per cent of the Asian banana industry on an annualized basis," the company said.

Another loser was bookseller Barnes & Noble, which late last month admitted its Nook e-reader sales over Christmas were disappointing. -- AFP

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Rabu, 2 Januari 2013

NST Online Business Times : latest

NST Online Business Times : latest

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