HEADLINES

Economy

US: Crude oil inventories decrease more than expected. A report released by the Energy Information Administration showed a continued decrease by US crude oil inventories in the week ended Dec 6th. The EIA said crude oil inventories fell by 1.4m barrels last week after tumbling by 5.1m barrels in the previous week. Economists had expected crude oil inventories to dip by 1.1m barrels. At 422.0m barrels, US crude oil inventories are about 6% below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said. (RTT)

US: Core inflation stays firm with fourth-straight 0.3% increase. US CPI continued to rise in Nov at a pace that is fuelling concerns the progress toward taming inflation is stalling. The core CPI which excludes food and energy costs increased 0.3% for a fourth straight month, Bureau of Labor Statistics figures showed. From a year ago, it rose 3.3%. Traders continued to bet on a Fed interest-rate cut next week after the figures came in largely as expected. (Bloomberg)

EU: Turkey retail sales growth eases in Oct. Turkey's retail sales continued to grow sharply in Oct, though at a slightly slower pace compared to the previous month, the Turkish Statistical Institute. The volume of retail sales climbed 15.0% on a yearly basis in Oct, following a 16.4% surge in Sept. Sales of non-food products, except automotive fuel, surged 20.1% annually in Oct, and those of food, drinks, and tobacco grew by 10.6%. (RTT)

EU: Portugal inflation confirmed at 2.5%. Portugal's CPI increased slightly, as initially estimated in Nov, the final data from Statistics Portugal showed. CPI rose to 2.5% in Nov from 2.3% in Oct. That was in line with the flash data published on Nov 29. The rise in inflation was driven by a 2.1% rebound in energy products. Housing and utility costs grew at a faster pace of 7.07%. Meanwhile, the annual price growth in unprocessed food products eased slightly to 2.0% from 2.1%. (RTT)

EU: Romania inflation rises to 5.1%. Romania's CPI increased further in Nov to the highest level in three months, data from the National Institute of Statistics showed. Inflation based on the CPI, rose 5.1% YoY in Nov, following a 4.7% increase in Oct. Prices for food products grew 5.11% from last year versus 4.75% in Oct, and those for non-food goods rose at a faster pace by 4.15%. Costs for services were 7.56% more expensive, which was 7.66% in Oct. On a monthly basis, CPI moved up 0.4% in Nov. (RTT)

Japan: Wholesale inflation accelerates, keeps BOJ rate-hike plan in focus. Japan's wholesale inflation accelerated for three straight months as companies continued to pass on rising raw material and labour costs, data showed, keeping the central bank under pressure to raise interest rates again. The data for Nov comes ahead of the BoJ's two-day policy meeting ending on Dec 19, when some analysts expect it to raise short-term interest rates from the current 0.25%. (Reuters)

Singapore: Economic growth forecast upgraded. Singapore's economic growth outlook for this year was upwardly revised on stronger manufacturing and wholesale and retail trade activities, the Survey of Professional Forecasters published by the Monetary Authority of Singapore showed. GDP is projected to grow 3.6% this year, which was revised up from 2.6% in the previous survey. (RTT)

Markets

Privasia: Teams up with Mara to develop data centre in Bagan Datuk, Perak. Mara Inc and ACE Market-listed Privasia Technology, a business process outsourcing company, are teaming up to develop and operate a data centre in Bagan Datuk, Perak. Mara Inc, the strategic investment arm of Mara Corp, inked a MoA with Privasia's wholly owned Privabytes SB for the project. Privasia is also involved in information and communications technology. The project's first phase, comprising 10MW, is expected to be completed by Oct 2026, according to the groups. Under the preliminary agreement, Mara and Privasia are to form a special purpose vehicle for the project, which is to lease a 49.9-acre land in Bagan Datuk from Felcra. (The Edge)

SAB: Buys Klang land for RM16m. Solid Automotive (SAB) is acquiring a piece of freehold agricultural land measuring 4.687 acres in Klang, Selangor, from Top Glove Corb for RM15.9m. The automotive parts and components distributor said the proposed acquisition is consistent with its strategic plan to operate in a more efficient manner, adding that the acquisition is expected to facilitate its consolidation plan. SAB said the acquisition represents strategic investments, after taking into consideration the freehold industrial zoning land, good accessibility, bigger land size and a customisable building. (StarBiz)

MyEG: Zetrix platform to offer digital ID services to China nationals and business entities for overseas verification. MyEG Services' Zetrix blockchain platform and Astron-Xinghuo BIF have partnered to offer Chinese nationals and business entities digital identification cards and business registration services for verification outside of China. The services, known as ZID, digitises official Chinese national or business registration IDs as Web3 verifiable credentials (VCs) which enable real-time fraud-proof identity verification, according to the e-services provider's statement. MyEG said Astron-Xinghuo BIF is the international chain of China's national public permissioned blockchain under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. (The Edge)

Petron Malaysia: Says Port Dickson refinery has resumed ops in full after two-month closure. After two months of maintenance shutdown, Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing announced that its Port Dickson refinery has resumed operations in full. The oil refiner said furnace repairs at the site had been completed. The refinery had been under maintenance shutdown for furnace repairs since Oct 9. "Following observation and monitoring of the furnace capabilities post-repair works, Petron is able to report that the refinery is now fully operational," the group said. Petron, however, did not disclose any financial impact from the temporary shutdown. (The Edge)

AE Multi Holdings: Proposes RM156m share capital reduction. AE Multi Holdings has proposed a share capital reduction to wipe out up to RM156m of the company's accumulated losses. "The proposed share capital reduction will enhance the company's ability to declare and pay dividends out of the retained earnings in the future and provide a better financial platform for the group's future growth moving forward," AEM said. As of Dec 2, AEM has an issued share capital of RM167.3m, consisting of 216.4m ordinary shares and 32.5m units of options that are eligible for its employees' share option scheme. (The Edge)

MARKET UPDATE

The KLCI might open higher today as US stock indices got back to climbing on Wednesday after the latest update on inflation appeared to clear the way for more help for the economy from the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to break its first two-day losing streak in nearly a month and finished just short of its all-time high. Big Tech stocks led the way, which drove the Nasdaq composite up 1.8% to top the 20,000 level for the first time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, lagged the market with a dip of 99 points, or 0.2%. Stocks got a boost as expectations built that Wednesday's inflation data will allow the Fed to deliver another cut to interest rates at its meeting next week. Lower rates would give a boost to the economy and to prices for investments, but they could also provide more fuel for inflation. The biggest boosts for the index on Wednesday came from Nvidia and other Big Tech stocks. Their massive growth has made them Wall Street's biggest stars for years, though other kinds of stocks have recently been catching up somewhat amid hopes for the broader US economy. In stock markets elsewhere, indices rose across much of Europe and Asia. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was an outlier and slipped 0.8% as Chinese leaders convened an annual planning meeting in Beijing that is expected to set economic policies and growth targets for the coming year. South Korea's Kospi rose 1%, up for a second straight day as it climbs back following last week's political turmoil where its president briefly declared martial law. Back home, FBM KLCI lost 5.77 points or 0.36% to 1603.20.

Source: PublicInvest Research - 12 Dec 2024