Business Times : latesthttp://www.btimes.com.my enTuesday, April 30, 2013, 08.16 AMRinggit opens sharply higherhttp://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130430101245/Article/ http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130430101245/Article/Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:12:45 +0800The ringgit opened sharply higher against the US dollar spurred by higher buying interest as investor confidence in the country's economy grew higher, a dealer said.
At 9.29am, the ringgit was quoted at 3.0295/0315 versus the greenback against yesterday's close of 3.0315/0345.
The dealer said investors' focus was shifted towards the local note as the Malaysian economy was well on track to achieve 5-6 per cent growth this year.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly higher against other major currencies.
The local note weakened against the Singapore dollar to 2.4560/4578 from 2.4557/4583 yesterday but rose against the euro to 3.9653/9688 from 3.9673/9719 on Monday.
It rose sharply against the Japanese yen to 3.0888/0918 from Monday's 3.1006/1043 and appreciated against the British pound to 4.6912/6949 from 4.7046/7108 yesterday.-- Bernama Short-term rates to remain stablehttp://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130430101454/Article/ http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130430101454/Article/Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:14:54 +0800Short-term interbank rates are expected to remain stable today as Bank Negara Malaysia intervenes to mop up excess liquidity from the financial system.
The central bank estimated today's liquidity at RM34.044 billion in the conventional system and RM8.705 billion in Islamic funds.
Bank Negara will call for three Al-Wadiah tenders, namely RM2.05 billion for seven days, RM1.2 billion for 14 days and RM700 million for 28 days.
The central bank will also conduct a RM9 billion range maturity auction programme for between two days and 92 days, as well as, a RM200 million Commodity Murabahah Programme each for 10 days and 36 days, respectively.
At 4pm, Bank Negara will conduct up to RM25.1 billion in conventional overnight tender and a RM5 billion Al-Wadiah overnight tender.-- Bernama KL shares opens easierhttp://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130430094208/Article/ http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130430094208/Article/Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:42:08 +0800Bursa Malaysia opened easier this morning despite the positive overnight performance posted by Wall Street, dealers said.
After six minutes of trading, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 3.3 points lower at 1,704.67, after opening 2.61 points higher at 1,710.58.
Market breadth, however, was positive with 61 gainers, 41 losers and 105 counters unchanged, 1,402 counters untraded and 35 others were suspended.
HwangDBS Vickers Research said Wall Street's barometers climbed between 0.7 per cent and 0.8 per cent as sentiment was boosted by better housing data and expectations that the Federal Open Market Committee would reaffirm their monetary stimulus measures when policymakers meet today and tomorrow.
"The positive external vibes could pave the way for our local bourse to show an upward bias today.
"On the chart, the key FBM KLCI may pull away from the psychological mark of 1,700 points, possibly advancing towards the resistance threshold of 1,720 points ahead," HwangDBS said in a note.
On the score board, the Finance Index increased 1.73 points to 15,913.2, the Plantation Index rose 7.99 points to 8,064.57 but the Industrial Index fell 17.36 points to 2,828.38.
The FBM Emas Index erased 15.51 points to 11,634.17, the FBMT100 lost 16.39 points to 11,475.29, and the FBM Ace Index slipped 5.17 points to 3,963.7.
However, the FBM Mid 70 Index gained 5.92 points to 12,850.53.
Turnover stood at 16.526 million shares worth RM23.958 million.
Among actives, Kumpulan Hartanah Selangor rose 3.5 sen to 67 sen,
SapuraKencana gained two sen to RM3.12, Pelikan added 1.5 sen to 53 sen while Censof was flat at 46.5 sen.
Heavyweights, Maybank improved three sen to RM9.57.
Both, Axiata Group and Petronas Chemicals shed one sen each to RM6.76 and RM6.48, respectively, CIMB Group slipped two sen to RM7.70 and Sime Darby eased four sen to RM9.40.-- Bernama S&P 500 closes at recordhttp://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130430101016/Article/ http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130430101016/Article/Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:10:16 +0800NEW YORK: The SandP 500 index ended at an all-time high on Monday as growth-oriented stocks, including energy and technology, lead the way to the index's sixth rise in the past seven sessions.
Stronger-than-expected housing data also boosted the market, as did Italy's formation of a new government, ending months of uncertainty and raising hopes for new policies to promote growth in the euro zone's third-largest economy.
Pressure has grown on the European Central Bank to lower interest rates with the euro zone mired in recession. Money market traders are evenly split on whether the ECB will cut rates at its meeting on Thursday, according to a Reuters poll.
Wall Street followed European stocks higher as Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta urged a focus on growth policies and away from austerity measures in his inaugural speech.
"After the election there was a lot of uncertainty about whether Italy could form a government, so now there is not only a great deal of relief over that, but also expectations for additional monetary policies from the ECB," said Alec Young, global equity strategist at SandP Equity Research in New York.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 106.20 points, or 0.72 per cent, at 14,818.75. The Standard and Poor's 500 Index was up 11.37 points, or 0.72 per cent, at 1,593.61. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 27.76 points, or 0.85 per cent, at 3,307.02.
The US Federal Reserve will also meet this week for a two-day session beginning on Tuesday. The Fed is expected to maintain its stimulus policy. Data on Monday showing muted inflation gave the Fed room for accommodative measures.
Also lifting markets was Apple Inc, which jumped 3.1 per cent to US$430.12 after taking initial steps for what would be its first debt sale. Technology stocks rose 1.7 per cent, making the sector the best-performing on Monday.
Among energy shares, Chevron Corp rose 1.1 per cent to US$121.32.
A report showed contracts to buy previously owned homes rose last month to their highest level since April 2010, showing underlying strength in the housing market recovery, even though the pace of sales growth has cooled in recent months.
The SandP 500 closed just barely above its previous record hit earlier this month of 1,593.37.
"The market's trend continues to be higher, but it is still attractive at these valuations," said Young, who has a 12-month target of 1,670 for the SandP.
About 71 per cent of New York Stock Exchange-listed companies closed higher while 65 per cent of companies traded on the Nasdaq ended in positive territory.
Volume was light, with about 5.10 billion shares changing hands on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and NYSE MKT, below the daily average so far this year of about 6.36 billion shares.
Moody's Corp was the SandP 500's top percentage gainer, jumping 8.3 per cent to US$59.69 after the company settled a lawsuit alleging that it had misled investors about the safety of risky debt vehicles it had rated.
McGraw-Hill Cos, whose Standard and Poor's unit said it settled similar suits, rose 2.8 per cent to US$53.45.
Roper Industries Inc fell 3.8 per cent to US$118.68 after reporting first-quarter revenue that missed expectations, though it raised its full-year profit outlook.
Of the 274 companies in the SandP 500 that have reported earnings to date for current season, 69 per cent have beat analysts' expectations and 43.2 per cent have reported revenue above expectations.
The second half of the earnings season may not be as strong as the first one, data showed.-- Reuters
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