MONEY MASTER

2015 has been a rather forgettable year for Malaysia.  The FBM KLCI closed at 1,761.25 points on 31st December 2014 but was last seen at 1,663.51 points on 23rd December 2015 before the market was closed for public holidays on 24th and 25th December....it's a drop of about 5.5%. That is before the Ringgit is being taken into consideration. The RM was one of the worst performing currencies in 2015. Chart taken from marketwatch.com   How 2016 will look like for Malaysia is the BIG QUESTION mark as we head into 2016 within a week's time. Emerging economies slowdown has been a real concern to global economy including Malaysia, especially with China. The slowdown is exerting downward pressure on commodity prices. While we are expected to see an improvement in the US economy and a moderate recovery in the Eurozone, 2016 is also the year where China is expected to see further decline in their growth. This has hurt the Asian economies as weaker global trade and softer dom...

It is official....Star Wars: The Force Awakens have smashed the US Box Office record. The previous record, was set by Jurassic World in June with $208.8m. Disney's Star Wars smashes the record for the biggest box office debut weekend in North America with ticket sales of $238m. Star Wars: The Force Awakens   The new Star Wars film has taken an estimated $517m globally in three days - putting it just behind Jurassic World's $525m tally. While it fail to top Jurassic World's global opening figures, analysts believe the space saga has a huge potential to become the biggest-selling movie of all time, especially since Jurassic World's figure has taken into account of their opening in China which was over the same weekend where it opened everywhere else. Star Wars: The Force Awakens, on the other hand will not debut in the world's second biggest cinema-going territory until 9 January.  With the trio stars from the original trilogy, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher ...

Disney will most likely to look back at their decision to buy Lucasfilm for $4 billion as a great deal now that the Star Wars franchise belonged to the Mickey Mouse company. Because even when Star Wars: The Force Awakens has just been released on the cinema not long, it's already breaking records.  The force is with the movie as it takes on the Big Screen with a Bang The movie is estimated to heads towards an opening day Friday over $100 million, and that's a record, topping Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 at $91.1 million set on its opening Friday in July 2011. With over $100 million, Star Wars $100 million is the first triple-digit million-day ever. This all comes after studio estimates showed that The Force Awakens exploded out of the box office at Thursday night previews, taking a record $57 million. Once again it beat out Deathly Hallows, Part 2 which made $43.5 million in Thursday night pre-shows in July 2011. The Force is strong with Disney on this...

The FBM KLCI index lost 10.18 points or 0.62% on Monday. FBM KLCI index dropped by 0.62% The Malaysian market seen a sharp drop as low crude oil prices and anticipation of the US interest rate decision hit the Asian market. Across Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 1.8%, South Korea's Kospi fell 1.07%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 0.72%. Asian share markets. US FED RATE ANTICIPATION AND LOW CRUDE OIL PRICES HIT BURSA MALAYSIA US policy makers will meet tomorrow (Dec 15) and on Wednesday (Dec 16) to decide on the country's monetary policy. A US rate hike does not bode well for emerging Asian markets like Malaysia as investors turn their attention to US dollar-denominated assets. A US rate hike will be the country's first increase in about seven years from near-zero levels. Crude oil prices have fallen below US$40 a barrel on oversupply concerns. At the time of writing, Brent oil was trading at US$37.74 a barrel. Sentiment on crude oil als...

In 2005, it appeared that the Star Wars saga was officially over. Lucasfilm and Twentieth Century Fox released Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, which completed the prequels trilogy and tied the story back to the first film in the series. It was done...finished. Period. But then come Disney. In October 2012 the studio brokered a $4.05 billion deal to buy Lucasfilm, and with the deal came the announcement that they would be starting production on a whole new trilogy of Star Wars films that would keep the epic story going for years and years to come. Now that we are less than a week to the release of the movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the question remains: How big will this be? Can Star Wars: The Force Awakens set new record in the box office? GALAXY-SIZE EXPECTATIONS? Star Wars: The Force Awakens opening on Friday is already setting records for pre-opening ticket sales....but the expectation is higher....can Star Wars beat "Avatar" in the...

The FBM KLCI index gained 4.13 points or 0.25% on Monday.  The Finance Index increased 0.42% to 14149.89 points, the Properties Index up 0.27% to 1194.87 points and the Plantation Index rose 0.38% to 7458.45 points.  The market traded within a range of 7.37 points between an intra-day high of 1675.96 and a low of 1668.59 during the session. FBM KLCI gained 4.13 points  The increase was mainly due to higher crude palm oil (CPO) prices.  Export-oriented counters such as glove counters were performing quite well today.  Top active for the day The most actively-traded counter was XOX Bhd while the leading decliner was British American Tobacco (M) Bhd.  The leading decliner was British American Tobacco (M) Bhd Bursa Malaysia's top gainer is Top Glove Corp Bhd.   Across Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.99%, while South Korea's Kospi closed 0.54% lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.15%. Reuters reported ...

After the index's advance in the last few days, we see the FBM KLCI fell 1.33 points or 0.1% as investors locked in gains.  The FBM KLCI index lost 1.33 points or 0.08% on Thursday. The Finance Index increased 0.05% to 14138.02 points, the Properties Index up 0.06% to 1193.05 points and the Plantation Index down 0.09% to 7513.83 points. The market traded within a range of 14.12 points between an intra-day high of 1688.79 and a low of 1674.67 during the session. Malaysian shares rose in recent days on news 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) was selling its power assets to China General Nuclear Power Corp, instead of Tenaga Nasional Bhd ( Valuation: 1.20, Fundamental: 1.30). Investors could have perceived such updates as good news for Tenaga, amid concerns Tenaga might overpay for state-owned 1MDB's power assets to bailout the company. However, as the news passed, the market sensed a lack of catalysts exciting the share market. Exports based companies ar...

Wall Street ends higher on Tuesday as energy stock rose along with oil prices after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border. The three major U.S. indexes recovered from a morning selloff that was triggered by the overseas news despite some strong U.S. economic data. Relatively light trading appeared to exaggerate swings in the market, according to Frankel, as many market participants were away ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Markets will be closed all day Thursday and close early Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 19.51 points, or 0.11 percent, to 17,812.19, the S&P 500 gained 2.55 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,089.14 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.33 points, or 0.01 percent, to 5,102.81. Investors steered clear of many of Nasdaq's higher-valuation stocks like Netflix and instead took safety in cheaper stocks due to geopolitical concerns, according to J.J. Feldman, portfolio manager at Los Angeles-based Miracle Mile Adviso...

The FBM KLCI continues its' good run today with 6.13 points or 0.4% higher to close at 1,677.030. This was a continuation of an increased of 9.01 points or 0.54% yesterday.  FBM KLCI close at 1,677.030 Tenaga shares rose on news 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) was selling its power assets to China General Nuclear Power Corp. Investors could have perceived such updates as good news for Tenaga, amid concerns that Tenaga might overpay for state-owned 1MDB's power assets to bailout the company. Today, fund managers said investors’ sentiment towards Malaysia had improved, as the country’s image seemed to be on a better footing with US and China, two of the world’s major economies, extending their hands to Malaysia recently. The Finance Index increased 0.40% to 14135.16 points, the Properties Index dropped 0.10% to 1197.08 points and the Plantation Index rose 0.06% to 7502.73 points. The market traded within a range of 12.33 points between an intra-day high ...

The FBM KLCI rose 9.01 points or 0.54% today, mainly on Tenaga Nasional Bhd share gains, amid speculation 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) may sell its power assets to foreign bidders. 1MDB's power assets are parked under Edra Global Energy Bhd. Analysts and fund managers said Tenaga gained as investors could have perceived such updates as good news for Tenaga, amid concerns Tenaga might overpay for state-owned 1MDB's power assets to bailout the company. The Finance Index increased 0.40% to 14135.16 points, the Properties Index dropped 0.10% to 1197.08 points and the Plantation Index rose 0.06% to 7502.73 points. The market traded within a range of 12.33 points between an intra-day high of 1673.92 and a low of 1661.59 during the session. FBM KLCI gained 0.54% as of closing for today Tenaga added 30 sen or 2.3% to RM13.42, to become Bursa Malaysia's fifth-largest gainer. Actively traded stocks include GENETEC, BORNOIL-WC, INSTACO, GLOTEC, HUBLINE...

1MDB near to $2.3 billion 1 Malaysia Development Bhd, which has been embroiled in much controversy for the high debt that it has accumulated is closing on an agreement to sell control of its power business to Chinese-led bidding group as part of its plan to wind down its' operations. An agreement with the consortium, which includes China General Nuclear Power Corp. and Qatar's Nebras Power QSC is coming to a near conclusion. The deal is said to have the 1MDB's Edra Global Energy Bhd. unit at about 10 billion ringgit ($2.3 billion), trumping a rival offer from Malaysian energy producer Tenaga Nasional Bhd.  With so much controversy surrounding the 1 Malaysia Development Bhd, the impending rising rate by the US Fed and the unconvincing economical data coming out from China, the Malaysian Ringgit has suffered an 18% drop this year, making it as the worst performing currency in Asia. This has been beneficial to the foreign bidders to buy the 1MDB power plants. T...

The FBM KLCI index gained 1.83 points or 0.11% on Friday. The Finance Index increased 0.32% to 14078.27 points, the Properties Index up 0.25% to 1198.25 points and the Plantation Index rose 0.61% to 7498.52 points. The market traded within a range of 6.35 points between an intra-day high of 1663.48 and a low of 1657.13 during the session. It is a good way to end the week with a gain in the market after a rather downward trend at the beginning of the week. The FBM KLCI index closed at 1,661.890, a gained of 1.83 points today. It is also an increase of 2.98 points compared to last Friday (13 November 2015) , so that makes the closing a lot more sweeter for the index. FBM KLCI index gained 1.830 points The increase happened as the global economy recovery is seen to be on the right track. The FBM KLCI index rose with the Asian share markets.  The top active counter is Instacom Group Bhd and Globaltec Formation Bhd  while the top gainers is Nestle, with a ga...

The FBM KLCI index gained 5.53 points or 0.33% on Tuesday. The Finance Index increased 0.14% to 14078 points, the Properties Index up 0.11% to 1199.37 points and the Plantation Index rose 0.09% to 7489.19 points. The market traded within a range of 17.30 points between an intra-day high of 1677.37 and a low of 1660.07 during the session. The increased of 0.33% is the first time after the index had declined for the past four consecutive days. The KLCI had tracked global markets' recovery from the shock of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, France. This is in line with the regional performance as Asian stocks rose across the board on Tuesday, following a surge on Wall Street overnight, as investors clawed back losses that came on the back of last week's Paris attacks. FBM KLCI increased 5.530 points to close at 1,661.530 Bursa Malaysia saw 2.16 billion shares, worth RM2.01 billion traded. Gainers outnumbered decliners at 533 against 379, while 346 shares were u...

The FBM KLCI index lost 2.91 points or 0.18% on Monday. The Finance Index fell 0.25% to 14058.26 points, the Properties Index dropped 0.45% to 1198 points and the Plantation Index down 0.40% to 7482.82 points. The market traded within a range of 14.51 points between an intra-day high of 1658.80 and a low of 1644.29 during the session. This is the fourth consecutive day of decline for the index, in line with the weaker sentiments shadowing global market as investors turn cautious after the terror attack that hit Paris over the weekend. FBM KLCI index fall consecutively for the forth day to close at 1,656.000 Across the board, 1.92 billion shares worth RM1.7 billion were exchanged. Decliners beat gainers at 597 against 347, while 308 counters remained unchanged. The most actively traded stock was Instacom Group Bhd's warrant, INSTACO-WB, followed by the mother share and Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd.  Hang Seng index's warrant HSI-HG led the gainers while the...

The FBM KLCI index lost 4.29 points or 0.26% on Friday to close at 1,658.910. The Finance Index fell 0.20% to 14093.2 points, the Properties Index dropped 0.82% to 1203.42 points and the Plantation Index down 0.12% to 7512.82 points. The market traded within a range of 13.14 points between an intra-day high of 1664.59 and a low of 1651.45 during the session. FBM KLCI downtrend continues The FBM KLCI decline, was in line with the dip at most regional markets and as the local economy grew at its slowest pace since the second quarter of 2013. Most of the indices on Bursa Malaysia ended the day in red, except for technology and mining, which increased 0.24 points and 8.11 points respectively. There were 339 gainers, 558 losers and 360 counters traded unchanged across the exchange today. Market breadth saw 2.21 billion shares traded, worth some RM2.14 billion. Top 3 Gainers Top gainers were led by Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, Panasonic Manufacturing Malay...

The FBM KLCI closed 0.13% lower today at 1,663.200 as the index is weighed by losses in index-linked plantation stocks, making it the second consecutive day of decline.   FBMKLCI closed at 1,663.200 The Finance Index increased 0.46% to 14121.1 points, the Properties Index up 0.35% to 1213.34 points and the Plantation Index down 1.22% to 7521.61 points. The market traded within a range of 12.26 points between an intra-day high of 1670.03 and a low of 1657.77 during the session. The index was dragged by losses in plantation stocks such as IOI Corp Bhd, PPB Group Bhd and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd. The inventory numbers released by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) yesterday were higher than expected, which did not bode well for the commodity's prices. Across the board, a total of 2.14 billion shares worth RM1.85 billion were traded. Gainers beat decliners with 476 versus 409, while 353 counters were unchanged. The most active stock was Instacom Group ...

The FBM KLCI index lost 20.79 points or 1.23% on Wednesday. The Finance Index fell 1.86% to 14056.35 points, the Properties Index dropped 0.94% to 1209.09 points and the Plantation Index down 1.39% to 7614.28 points. The market traded within a range of 16.80 points between an intra-day high of 1674.68 and a low of 1657.88 during the session. The index closed at 1,665.320. Across Bursa Malaysia, decliners outweighed gainers by 710 against 279, while 254 counters remained unchanged. The top losing counter was British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, while gainers were led by Petronas Dagangan Bhd.  British American Tobacco (M) Bhd is the biggest decliner for the day Petronas Dagangan Bhd led the gainers with an increase of 94 cents Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd was the most actively traded counter today, with some 156.44 million shares done. The FBM KLCI has dropped as investors concern over China's economic growth. Market breadth was negative amid absenc...

The focus today will be on both the Ringgit against a much stronger US dollar and the plantation sector. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board will announce this week Oct inventory, output and export numbers, thus the spot light on the plantation sector. Last Monday, the KLCI eked out a 0.41-point gain to settle at 1,686.11. Yesterday, the Malaysian stock market was closed for the Deepavali holiday. However, overnight US dollar gains could put the ringgit in the spotlight today. The ringgit was last traded weaker at 4.3825 versus the US dollar. The Ringgit on spot light against a stronger US dollar Reuters reported that the prospect of a US rate hike sent the dollar to a seven-month high. A strong dollar eats into the overseas sales at US companies. In overnight US share trades, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.16% to  17,758.21 points. Nasdaq Composite fell 0.24% to 5,083.24. With the plantation shares like Sime Darby Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, ...