Outside Malaysia

S&P 500, Dow Jones set records as telecom, tech stocks rally

US equities set records as phone companies rallied for a second day and were joined by tech companies as well as stocks that pay high dividends. The S&P 500 Index jumped 1.3% to 2,241.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 297.84 points (1.5%) to 19,549.62.

US job openings remain elevated in October, near record level

Job openings in the US remained elevated in October and employers’ job listings were revised up for the previous month, indicating robust demand for workers, a Labor Department report showed. Number of positions waiting to be filled fell by 97,000 to 5.53m, from 5.63m in September (revised from 5.49m), according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey was 5.5m.

German industrial production rose less than forecast in October

German industrial production rose less than analysts forecast in October, signaling that Europe’s largest economy took a slow start to the final quarter of the year. Production, adjusted for seasonal swings, gained 0.3% from the prvious month, when it fell a revised 1.6%, data from the Economy Ministry showed. The reading, which is typically volatile, compares with a median estimate for a 0.8% gain in a Bloomberg survey.

UK manufacturing unexpectedly drops most in eight months

UK manufacturing output unexpectedly fell the most in eight months in October as pharmaceuticals slumped. The 0.9% drop compared with forecasts for a 0.2% gain and marked the biggest decline since February. Industrial production fell 1.3%, driven by a slide in oil and gas extraction.

Australia’s economy shrinks most in eight years

Australia’s economy shrunk last quarter, driven by slump in construction and government spending. Gross domestic product fell 0.5% from previous quarter, when it gained a revised 0.6%. Result was worst since depths of global financial crisis at the end of 2008 and well below economists’ estimates of a 0.1% drop. The economy grew 1.8% yoy in 3Q16.

China foreign reserves drop most in 10 months as yuan slumps

China’s foreign curency reserves, the world’s largest, fell the most since January after the yuan declined to an eight-year low. Reseves decreased US$69.1bn to US$3.05trn in November, the People’s Bank of China said in a statement. That compares with the median estimates of US$3.06trn in a Bloomberg survey. Decline was biggest since reserves tumbled US$99.5bn in January.

India unexpectedly keeps rates unchanged before Fed decision

India’s central bank unexpectedly kept interest rates unchanged before a possible increase in US borrowing costs this month, as Governor Urjit Patel awaits clarity on the impact of the cash clampdown. The benchmark repurchase rate will stay at a six-year low of 6.25%, the Reserve Bank of India said in a statement. The move was predicted by only eight of 44 economists in a Bloomberg survey.

Oil falls as supply surges at US hub, OPEC’s position on curbs

Oil dropped after a report showed crude supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the biggest US storage hub climbed the most since January 2009. Brent for February settlement declined US$0.93 (1.7%) to US$53 per barrel.

Source: Affin Hwang Research - 8 Dec 2016