Outside Malaysia

Dow sets record as bank stocks rally, investors shrug off Italy

US stocks climbed and the Dow Jones Industrial Average set a record as a rally in financial and technology shares reversed a dip in early trading after Italian voters rejected a constitutional referendum. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 2,204.71. The Dow rose 46 points (0.2%) to 19,216.24.

Dudley says he favors somewhat tighter fed policy over time

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley signaled that he approves of higher interest rates over time as the economy continues to improve, while cautioning that fiscal and monetary policy need to work together to secure the longer-term outlook. While the US economy is moving toward the Fed’s two goals of maximum employment and 2% inflation, Dudley pointed out that the country faces longer-term challenges and urged fiscal policy makers to keep in mind macroeconomic stability.

Service industries in US grow at fastest pace in 13 months

America’s service industries expanded in November at the fastest clip since October of last year, putting the economy’s biggest sector on a robust growth path. The Institute for Supply Management’s nonmanufacturing index jumped to 57.2, exceeding all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey, from 54.8 in October, the group’s data showed.

ECB buys record amount of debt as QE frontloaded before holidays

The European Central Bank (ECB) bought a record monthly amount of assets under its quantitative-easing program in November in an attempt to frontload purchases before market liquidity may dry up during the holiday season. The ECB bought a total of €85.4bn (US$91.6bn) of debt last month even as the pace of purchases of government bonds dropped to €70.1bn from €73bn in October, ECB data showed.

Italy’s Renzi quits as referendum defeat deepens Europe’s turmoil

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi quit in the early hours of Monday after losing a referendum he’d called to push through constitutional changes, threatening renewed political and financial turmoil for Europe. Renzi said he’ll turn in his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella later in the day and signaled that he won’t stay on to help stabilize a caretaker administration.

UK services pickup keeps economy on track to maintain momentum

The UK services sector grew at the fastest pace in 10 months in November, keeping the economy on track to maintain its pace of expansion this quarter. IHS Markit’s activity gauge rose to 55.2 from 54.5 in October, beating the median forecast of economists for a reading of 54.

Modi’s cash clampdown set to shrink India services sector

India’s economy will be hurt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s shock clampdown on cash, private surveys signaled before the central bank’s interest-rate review on Wednesday. The Nikkei India Services Purchasing Managers’ Index was at 46.7 in November, a report showed, the lowest since December 2013 and below the 50-mark that indicates a contraction.

Oil advances to 16-month high as focus shifts to non-OPEC cuts

Oil climbed to a 16-month high as OPEC invited non-members to Vienna in an effort to secure additional output cuts following last week’s surprise deal to curtail supply. Brent for February settlement advanced US$0.48 (0.9%) to US$54.94 a barrel.

Source: Affin Hwang Research - 6 Dec 2016