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The FBM KLCI gained 0.5% or 8.7 points as Asian market pushed higher, led by the Japanese market.  FBM KLCI kickstart October in a positive mood As at 5pm, the benchmark index closed at 1,661.25 points, as the Japanese led the Asian equity market rally on weaker yen as US interest rate hike expectation strengthened the US dollar.  The Finance Index increased 0.65% to 14,249.84 points, the Properties Index up 0.47% to 1,209.86 points and the Plantation Index rose 0.37% to 7,949.49 points. The market traded within a range of 8.00 points between an intra-day high of 1,666.02 and a low of 1,658.02 during the session. Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 0.83% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged higher by 0.45%. China markets are closed this week for the National Day holidays. Asian shares shrugged off a sluggish start and pushed higher on Tuesday, with Japanese markets leading the way after an upbeat US manufacturing survey bolstered the dollar according to reports by R...

Oil jumped by nearly 4% as OPEC meets; discuss ways to support prices Oil jumped nearly 4 percent on Monday as the world's largest producers gathered in Algeria to discuss ways to support prices, with nervous trade driving volatility to its highest since a similar meeting to freeze output in April in Doha which failed. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other exporters led by No. 1 producer Russia are meeting informally on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algeria from Sept. 26-28 to discuss steps to tackle a price-eroding glut of crude. Key OPEC member Iran, the fourth largest crude exporter which is still trying to recapture output before Western sanctions in 2012, downplayed the chances of a deal while some OPEC members remained hopeful. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up $1.75, or 3.8 percent, at $47.64 a barrel by 11:19 a.m. EDT (1519 GMT) U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 rose $1.65, or 3.7 perc...

Abu Dhabi's state-owned International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) said it would make a US$50.3 million interest payment to holders of notes issued by Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), but only after 1MDB defaults on its payments. A default by 1MDB will occur if the troubled Malaysian sovereign fund fails to make a payment on the 1MDB Energy (Langat) Ltd bond before Monday, April 25, IPIC said in a filing to the London Stock Exchange on Monday. IPIC guarantees the bond. The coupon on the US$1.75 billion bond was due on April 18, but terms of the bond gave a five-day period of grace for the payment, which ends Monday. The Abu Dhabi fund said neither 1MDB Energy (Langat) nor 1MDB have made the payment so far. It said the guarantee has not been called upon yet. "As at the time of this announcement, IPIC is not aware of the Guarantee being called upon. IPIC has always honoured its obligations arising from any agreements it has entered in to ...

The feel good factor continues in the market as FBM KLCI breached the 1,700 mark.  FBM KLCI breached the 1,700 mark The positive sentiment was felt across the Asia region. In Malaysia, the FBM KLCI was up 3.77 points or 0.22% to 1,700.31.  In the Asia region, Japan's Nikkei 225 ended the day up 1.74%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.17% and South Korea's Kospi inched up 0.04%. Reuters reported that Asian shares began a c entral bank-focused week on firm footing today, buoyed by gains on Wall Street, as well as glimmers of strength in weekend data from China. Across Bursa,  there were 419 advancers versus 412 losers, while 360 counters closed unchanged. A total of 1.47 billion shares, valued RM1.61 billion, exchanged hands during the day. Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd rose RM1.54 or 2.08% to close at RM75.50; while the top loser was Petronas Dagangan Bhd, which fell 40 sen to RM24.10.   The most actively-traded stock was Gamuda Bhd's warrant (Gamuda-WE...

The US market opened lower on Tuesday as weak Chinese data brings back the fear of a global economic slowdown. Wall Street Reuters reported that China's February trade performance was far worse than economists had expected, with exports tumbling the most in over six years. The data weighed on markets worldwide. It is obvious that people are still very nervous and the market is in such a fragile state that any bad news could easily break it. Crude prices also shed their gains and were down about 2%. Oil has recovered from the 2016 low touched in January, but Goldman Sachs analysts on Tuesday said the recent rally was premature as prices would need to remain lower to help rebalance the market later in the year. At 9:39 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 84.02 points, or 0.49%, at 16,989.93, the S&P 500 was down 13.35 points, or 0.67%, at 1,988.41 and the Nasdaq Composite index was down 35.30 points, or 0.75%, at 4,672.95. Investors are focusing on da...

The Asian market looks likely to test February highs today, with the US manufacturing sector and gains in oil prices helped to ease the pressure and worries about a global slowdown. The US stocks had already gained much higher yesterday. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.6 percent in early trade, coming within striking distance of last month's peak touched on Feb. 23, its highest since early January. According to Reuters report, Chicago-listed futures point to a 2.6 percent gains in Japan's Nikkei. The market has basically been responding to the good news from the manufacturing data, which had been a major concern before this. This could probably revive expectations of a Fed rate hike. The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) index of factory activity, a closely-watched measure of the U.S. manufacturing sector, rose more than expected last month. It also edged up for two months in a row, appearing to have snapped its almost...