Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-10-30 11:07 | Report Abuse

UMNO wants General Election held once COVID-19 pandemic brought under control

(Bernama / October 30, 2020 01:42 am +08)

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 29): UMNO tonight decided that a General Election should be held to get a fresh mandate from the people to establish a stable government once the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control with the minimum number of cases.

Its president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said UMNO has always been a party that puts the people’s agenda first.

“Therefore, all Cabinet members representing UMNO will continue to remain in the Government and are committed in continuing to look after the welfare of the people and defend the party's dignity," he said in a statement after attending an UMNO Supreme Council special meeting here.

Ahmad Zahid also said that UMNO continues to remain focused and consistent with the party’s previous statements on the importance of a political ceasefire and national reconciliation while facing COVID-19, and to safeguard the welfare of the people, national peace and political stability.

The party also upholds the decree by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Al-Mustafa Ri'ayatuddin Billah Shah and the Malay Rulers for the country’s administration to continue to be well-managed based on the rule of law and respect for the spirit of the Federal Constitution.

He also said that UMNO scrutinised the various views and aspirations of the people with regard to Budget 2021 to be forwarded to the Government, among them the issue of extending the moratorium on loans, cost of living allowance for people who lost their source of income due to COVID-19, special payment to the frontliners and several initiatives to boost the national economy.

“As such, UMNO will be able to ensure that a Budget 2021 that benefits the people will be approved.

“Any action by any quarters to question UMNO’s decision to uphold the decree of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Malay Rulers is irresponsible and most regrettable,” he said.

Ahmad Zahid said if UMNO’s stance continues to be questioned, the party will not hesitate to take firm action to safeguard the sovereignty of the Rulers and the interests of the people.


##https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/umno-wants-general-election-held-once-covid19-pandemic-brought-under-control

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-10-30 12:31 | Report Abuse

Seem like foreign institutions keep on dumping local equity......

Very obvious, just look at following share price :-

1) Tenaga

2) Ajinomoto

3) Dutch lady

4) Heinken

5) Calsberg

6) F&N


** Be more alert during foreign institutions start leaving local equity....

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-10-30 14:18 | Report Abuse

As the Dow enters a correction, two market analysts break down the move

(PUBLISHED THU, OCT 29 20209:05 AM EDT)

The Dow Jones Industrial Average have now entered a correction, falling more than 10% from its February peak.

The blue-chip index has been hard hit this week as spiking Covid cases in the U.S. ignited fears over the economic recovery.

The failure to get additional relief from Washington lawmakers to mitigate the economic damage has also sent stocks spiraling, according to Gina Sanchez, CEO of Chantico Global and chief market strategist at Lido Advisors.

“That is driving the markets and has been driving the markets for the past several weeks,” Sanchez told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Wednesday. “If we don’t have additional stimulus and most of the stimulus programs are starting to expire, that means that economic activity and the outlook is starting to dim at a moment when Covid cases are surging.”

Third-quarter GDP in the U.S. rose a record 33.1%, the Commerce Department reported Thursday in its initial reading, though growth has yet to reach pre-pandemic levels. A day before the GDP report, Sanchez pointed to how far the economy has to go until it recoups all the pandemic losses.

“That really spells trouble for a lot of the assumptions we’ve made, particularly in a lot of the Dow companies where we assumed that we would eventually get back to normal within 12 to 18 months. That’s now being challenged,” she said.

In the same interview, TradingAnalysis.com founder Todd Gordon reminded investors that the Dow is only a small slice of the market — and it’s been underperforming for a long stretch.

“The last time the Dow was actually outperforming the Nasdaq was in 2000-2002 when we had the Nasdaq sell off,” he said. “Not surprising. Then we went into a period of sort of consolidation in the tech bubble with the housing crisis, global credit crisis — it was kind of expanding volatility, sideways pattern. Point is, today we’re seeing the exact same thing except on a smaller scale.”

Putting Wednesday’s plunge into perspective also helps to give context, he said.

“We’re at the same level now that we were at the beginning of this consolidation, which is the end of that 2017 high, like 26,600,” he said. “So just important to keep in mind there’s two underlying takeaways. One, the Nasdaq has been outperforming the Dow since 2002, and number two the Dow has been sideways for better going on three years now.”


#https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/29/stock-market-today-dow-enters-a-correction-as-covid-cases-surge.html?__twitter_impression=true&recirc=taboolainternal

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-10-30 14:27 | Report Abuse

Dow futures fall more than 500 points as Apple and Amazon shares decline after earnings

(PUBLISHED THU, OCT 29 20206:02 PM EDTUPDATED 5 MIN AGO)

U.S. stock futures fell in early morning trading Friday after some of the technology heavyweights came under pressure following their quarterly reports.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 533 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 also traded in negative territory.

Shares of Apple fell more than 4% in extended trading after the tech giant reported a 16% decline in iPhone sales and failed to offer investors any guidance for the quarter ahead. Amazon dipped 1.87% even after the e-commerce giant reported blowout third-quarter results with a big beat on the top line.

Wall Street staged a modest rebound on Thursday on the back of better-than-expected U.S. gross domestic product and jobless claim data. The 30-stock Dow gained more than 100 points for its first positive day in five, while the S&P 500 rose 1.2% to snap a three-day losing streak. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.6%.

Still, major averages are on pace to post their worst weekly performance in months. The Dow is down 5.9% week to date, on pace for its worst week since March 20. The S&P 500 has fallen 4.5% this week, headed for its worst week since June 12.

Volatility remained elevated as investors grappled with rising new cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. and abroad. The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), also known as Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” touched a high of 41.2 Thursday, its highest level since June 15.

“Pre-election market volatility is not unusual and has arisen around swirling questions about elections, COVID-19, and economic and earnings growth,” Paul Christopher, Wells Fargo’s head of global market strategy, said in a note Thursday. “This indigestion triggered declines in the S&P 500 Index.”

The Dow and the S&P 500 are also set to post their second straight month of losses as Wall Street wraps up a turbulent October. The 30-stock average is down 4% this month, and the S&P 500 has lost 1.5%. The Nasdaq outperformed, rising just 0.2% in the same period.

Shares of Alphabet soared more than 7% in extended trading after the Google parent company posted quarterly results that topped Wall Street expectations. Meanwhile, Twitter dropped more than 14% after the social media company reported user growth that fell short of expectations.


##https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/29/stock-market-futures-open-to-close-news.html

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-10-30 14:52 | Report Abuse

Time to wake up...time to believe...

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-10-30 15:11 | Report Abuse

OMG...Bursa Market start tsunami liao...

Already dropped by -30++ point.................

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-10-30 17:12 | Report Abuse

Time to wake up...time to believe...More bleeding upcoming November month....

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-10-31 10:38 | Report Abuse

Dow closes more than 150 points lower as Wall Street posts its worst one-week sell-off since March

(PUBLISHED THU, OCT 29 20206:02 PM EDTUPDATED 3 HOURS AGO)

Stocks fell on Friday, led by major tech shares, as Wall Street wrapped up a difficult week in which coronavirus cases rose, U.S. fiscal stimulus talks broke down and traders braced for next week’s presidential election.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 157.51 points lower, or 0.6%, at 26,501.60. At one point, the Dow was down more than 500 points. The S&P 500 dropped 1.2% to 3,269.96 and the Nasdaq Composite pulled back 2.5% to 10,911.59.

The Dow and S&P 500 fell 6.5% and 5.6%, respectively, and posted their biggest weekly losses since March. The Nasdaq lost more than 5% over that time period and also had its worst one-week performance since March.

Those weekly losses came as the seven-day average of new coronavirus cases in the U.S. hit an all-time high this week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. In Europe, Germany and France announced new lockdown measures to curb the virus’ spread.

“Massive policy stimulus, positive medical developments and high hopes for a return to pre-pandemic economic activity levels have provided a solid boost to equity markets,” strategists at MRB Partners wrote in a note. “However, mounting new economic restrictions, particularly in Europe, despite being forecastable and in lagged response to the re-acceleration in COVID-19 infections, only caught investors’ attention this week, triggering sharp losses.”

In Washington, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell adjourned the Senate until Nov. 9, making it highly unlikely for Democrats and Republicans to reach a deal on new fiscal stimulus before the election on Tuesday. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, meanwhile, accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of miscasting the state of the stalled negotiations, calling it a “political stunt.”

Traders had been betting on both sides reaching a stimulus deal before Tuesday’s vote as some recent data shows the economic recovery could stall without new aid. This is all taking place as traders prepare for choppy market moves next week amid the U.S. presidential election.

Data compiled by RealClearPolitics showed former Vice President Joe Biden holding an average lead of more than 7 percentage points over President Donald Trump. However, that lead has narrowed since early October.

Gina Bolvin Bernarduci, president of Bolvin Wealth Management, said several of her clients were concerned about the election outcome and how it would impact their investments.

“We have had more calls about the election recently than we had during the big sell-off in March,” said Bernarduci. “I think it’s going to be a few volatile days, but there are factors that affect the market more than who wins the election.”

“Investors should also keep in mind what happened four years ago. Everybody thought that if Trump won, that would have been bad for the market, yet we made [more than 100 new highs] in four years,” Bernarduci said.

The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all posted their first back-to-back monthly losses since March. The Dow lost more than 6% this month while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each declined by more than 5% in October.

Apple and Amazon fall on earnings, Alphabet gains

Shares of Apple fell 5.6% after the tech giant reported a 20% decline in iPhone sales and failed to offer investors any guidance for the quarter ahead. Amazon dropped 5.5% even after the e-commerce giant reported blowout third-quarter results with a big beat on the top line.

Meanwhile, Twitter lost more than 21% after the social media company reported user growth that fell short of expectations. Facebook was off by 6.3% amid a surprise decline in active users in Canada and the U.S.

Shares of Alphabet bucked the negative trend for tech stocks, rising 3.8% after the Google parent company posted quarterly results that topped Wall Street expectations.


##https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/29/stock-market-futures-open-to-close-news.html

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-10-31 10:40 | Report Abuse

Well prepare upcoming roller-coaster trading week......

2 big headache on the market outlook...

1) US election @ 03/11/20

2) Malaysia 2021 Budgetary heading uncertainty (no-confidence motion stress still on the Parliament table)


** What market strategies need to adopt....Push or Pull Strategy !!!...

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-11-01 11:43 | Report Abuse

Malaysia Is Divided by Failures That Go Beyond Any One Man

Deep recession, stale leadership and a royal comeback force a tough question: Does this country have a future?

(October 31, 2020, 8:00 AM GMT+8)

You know a parliamentary democracy is in deep trouble when a king has to tell lawmakers to pass a budget. That Malaysia's monarch, usually a background ceremonial figure, has become so involved in basic government shows the breakdown in the political economy. But it goes wider than that. This is a country losing all sense of leadership.

Like waxwork figures, the dominant players in Kuala Lumpur are the same folks at or near the top of their game when I lived there in the 1990s. Few Malaysians could name a member of the royal families; the position of king is rotated among the hereditary sultans of nine states. But the country is now so skewed along political, cultural and economic divides that the current one has come out of the shadows to referee old feuds. The pandemic has aggravated these wounds.

Take Mahathir Mohamed, who ran the government from 1981 to 2003, and had a second spell as prime minister as the leader of his former opponents from 2018 until March. At 95, he’s still maneuvering for another shot. Mahathir would be remembered, with justification, as a nation builder if he knew when to gracefully bow out.

Instead, he manages to do Malaysia an incredible disservice, pressing buttons guaranteed to rile up segments of society and to spark outrage in the West. He was at it again Thursday, weighing in that Muslims had a right to kill millions of French people in response to “massacres of the past.” France urged Twitter to suspend his account. The post was removed.

Lack of leadership unfortunately goes beyond one man. The king, Abdullah Ahmad Shah, has signaled that his support for current Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s cabinet is tenuous, admonishing lawmakers to approve the budget for 2021. Last Sunday, he denied Muhyiddin's plea to sign off on a state-of-emergency declaration. The prime minister would have obtained funding and other rule-making powers by executive order — not an insane idea, given the deep recession and surge in Covid-19 infections. The more corrosive impact would have been effectively freezing challenges to Muhyiddin by suspending parliament, where he holds a wavering, paper-thin majority.

Unlike neighboring Indonesia and the Philippines, politics in Malaysia seems unable to throw up newcomers or mold-breakers. Flawed as they are, presidents Joko Widodo and Rodrigo Duterte testify to the abilities of their respective countries to renew leadership. Should Muhyiddin be toppled in coming weeks, Malaysia would be on its fourth government in three years. That’s a dramatic shift, given that one bloc led from independence in 1957 until 2018.

Malaysia seems to be stuck in 1998, and the great political and economic upheaval of the Asian financial crisis. Anwar Ibrahim, who was struck down as Mahathir’s heir-apparent back then, always seems to be on the cusp of becoming prime minister, only to stumble — or be jailed. He’s making another gambit. Najib Razak, the former premier convicted of corruption in the 1MDB scandal, remains a force within the leading political party. They’re all of a younger generation than Mahathir, but it’s hardly a victory for youth; Muhyiddin is 73.

There’s far more to Malaysia's woes than Mahathir spouting bigotry, or his infighting with rivals and the monarchy (whose power he curbed in the 1980s, earning undying grudges that helped nudge him out in March). As I wrote in March, Malaysian society is riven in ways redolent of Brexit and Donald Trump. Once among Southeast Asia’s most stable and prospering nations, deep cleavages have opened up around urban and rural populations, the politics of race and faith, and degrees of comfort with globalization.

The current intrigue can be traced to flaws in the country's design. In the years after World War II, a depleted U.K. was eager to shed colonies as quickly as possible. In Malaysia, power was to be shared between secular nationalist elected leaders and the traditional rulers. Under this compromise, the royals kept reserve powers and a degree of cultural and religious authority. Executive government lay with the prime minister. The North Borneo states of Sarawak and Sabah — demographically and religiously more diverse than the peninsula — joined in 1963, along with Singapore, which left two years later.

Cont...


##https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-10-31/malaysia-and-mahathir-economy-politics-can-t-break-free-of-the-past

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-11-01 11:58 | Report Abuse

The moment of truth for stock-market investors? Election Day looms and the most crucial stretch of 2020 awaits

(Last Updated: Oct. 31, 2020 at 8:52 p.m. ET)

Could the 2020 U.S. presidential election be the most highly wagered on event in history?

The Nov. 3 vote has tallied over $260 million in wagers thus far, according to Pete Watt, spokesman for OddsCheckerUS, during a Wednesday interview on “The Dan Abrams Show” on SiriusXM.

That means bets on the political race between President Donald Trump and former Vice President and Democratic challenger Joe Biden already have surpassed total wagers on high-profile sporting events, like the National Football League’s Super Bowls, the National Basketball Association finals, and big ticket boxing matches, Watt says.

But there are, gargantuan sums at stake on Wall Street too, and this coming week could represent the moment of truth for traders who have been rattled recently in the lead-up to the highly anticipated election.

The Dow closed 6.5% lower for the past week and the S&P 500 lost 5.6% over the same stretch, while the Nasdaq skittered 5.5% lower.

However, it isn’t just political agita that this week drove the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.59%, the S&P 500 index SPX, -1.21%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -2.45% to register their worst weekly tumbles since March—there’s been a resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic too.

Traders this coming week confront the prospect in some U.S. states of a return to business shutdowns like those seen in March as COVID-19 cases rise to daily records.

Stephen Dover, head of equities at Franklin Templeton, put it this way: “This next week will be a confluence of market driving events: of course the election, stimulus, earnings and growing Covid infections.”

Key events of the coming week include the U.S. election results on Tuesday, an update from the Federal Reserve at its Wednesday and Thursday meeting, and the jobs report for October from the U.S. Labor Department on Friday.

“Next week is going to be a volatile week for the market given all the big events,” Lindsey Bell, chief investment strategist at Ally Invest, told MarketWatch.

Will Trump overcome betting odds and the opinion polls to stage a comeback in the electoral college against Biden as he did in 2016? Or will the Congressional races amount to a so-called blue wave in Washington, resulting in a Democratic sweep of both the White House and Congress that may usher in another broad fiscal relief package to combat the economic harm from the pandemic ?

“If the Democrats gain a strong majority in the Senate there is likely to be more legislation that will affect the markets and there will be sentiment shifts in many sectors of the market,” Franklin Templeton’s Dover explained.

Specifically, Dover thinks the congressional races could prove a source of jitters for markets into late November and beyond, pressuring stocks lower.

“It is likely that we will not know the final Senate results on Tuesday evening,” Dover told MarketWatch, while warning that uncertainty could “add to volatility in the market until resolved which, because of runoff races, might not be resolved until January.”

It is a point that can’t be overstated: the investment community hates the unknown.

Ally Invest’s Bell ranks the political race as the key issue next week, perhaps even above the second or third wave of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and in major cities in Europe.

“I believe the election will be the key driver of next week’s action,” Bell said. “That’s because the election has the most consequential near-term and long-term implications for the market,” she said, while pointing out that investors will be looking to adjust their portfolios based on its outcome.

However, Katie Nixon, chief investment officer at Northern Trust Wealth Management, views the deadly pandemic as trumping all other market risk factors.

“Given the global ‘risk off’ tone of the market this week, it is clear that the rise in Covid-19 cases across Europe and the U.S. has taken center stage in terms of key risk factors,” she wrote in a Friday research note.

“With memories of March and April fresh in investors’ minds, many are fearful of a repeat, and this fear has been supported by the announcement of various restrictive measures taken across Europe.”

Against that backdrop, the Federal Reserve’s two-day Nov. 4-5 policy meeting and the nonfarm payrolls report on Friday, usually a pivotal market driver, could end up being a sideshow to the election and the coronavirus.

Cont...


##https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-moment-of-truth-for-stock-market-investors-election-day-looms-and-the-most-crucial-stretch-of-2020-awaits-11604148155

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-11-01 12:10 | Report Abuse

Political instability hurts Malaysia as investment hub, say experts

(Jason Thomas - October 31, 2020 9:00 AM)

PETALING JAYA: Political instability and foreign labour uncertainties are among the issues hampering Malaysia’s efforts to attract companies to invest in the country, say economists.

The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) recorded RM19.5 billion from foreign investment in the first six months of 2020, with its chairman stating he expects Malaysia to continue being a regional investment hub despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, Sunway University economics professor Yeah Kim Leng says although Mida’s innovative approach to attract investment hits the right notes, it is insufficient as long term investors are very particular about political stability.

“A stable government is crucial for foreign investment to hit the desired high single-digit growth rate,” said Yeah.

Goh Lim Thye, a senior economics lecturer at Universiti Malaya (UM), noted that a 2013 report by the World Bank had highlighted the significantly reduced investment in the Middle East and North Africa from 2003 to 2012 because of adverse political shocks.

Goh said that Singapore’s stability had made it stand out from the competition despite the global economic outlook.

Carmelo Ferlito, the head of the Centre for Market Education, part of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), said that Malaysia has done well in the past decade to attract foreign investment despite being a small market.

However, he said, the current political instability has meant investors have taken a “wait and see” approach.

The trio were commenting on a recent statement by Mida chairman Abdul Majid Ahmad Khan that Malaysia will remain an attractive investment target despite the Covid-19 pandemic and uncertain global economy.

He said Malaysia’s advantages included a sturdy and reliable local supply chain network, and long-term sustainable growth prospects.

Ferlito said recent government policies on foreign workers and expatriates had placed Malaysia “in a very bad position” and urged that labour policies be discussed with international chambers of commerce.

“No foreign company will be willing to come here and not have the freedom to at least choose their top managers. I expect more MNCs to leave Malaysia precisely because of this,” he said.

Ferlito said a ban on foreign workers would hurt manufacturing companies with large-scale assemblies, warehouses and logistics systems, the type of operations which require a large number of foreign workers.

He said he had seen multinational corporations pack up because of the impossibility of hiring manufacturing workers.

Goh agreed that a ban on foreign workers would severely hurt the economy.

He said unofficial estimates say that Malaysia hosts up to six million foreign workers, or 18.6% of the country’s 32.6 million population – a far fry from the 2.1 million documented by the human resources ministry.


##https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/10/31/political-instability-hurts-malaysia-as-investment-hub-say-experts/

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-11-01 18:59 | Report Abuse

Big tech stocks may face post-election headwinds, no matter who wins

(Reuters / November 01, 2020 11:24 am +08)

NEW YORK: Some investors are betting the technology and communications stocks that drove a massive rebound in US markets this year will face a tougher slog in coming months, no matter whether Republican President Donald Trump or Democratic challenger Joe Biden wins Tuesday's election.

Betting against big technology has been a risky proposition over the last decade, as stocks like Amazon, Google and Netflix have shot higher at the expense of so-called value and cyclical stocks such as banks and energy companies.

Recently, however, some fund managers say they are growing alarmed by what they see as a consensus in Washington to tighten regulations, and prospects that another large stimulus bill would bolster a rotation out of tech and into other sectors including economically sensitive value stocks.

"There will be a shift and it is starting, but it will take time," said Max Gokhman, head of asset allocation at Pacific Life Fund Advisors, which cut its exposure to large-cap tech in September to neutral from overweight.

Should Biden win as polls suggest, technology companies could face higher tax rates and tax-motivated selling, as well as increased regulation, investors said.

Both Trump and Biden have criticised large tech companies but stopped short of explicitly calling for them to be broken up. Trump has said “there is something going on in terms of monopoly” when asked about big tech firms.

Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc , Facebook Inc and Google-parent Alphabet Inc now make up approximately 23% of the total weight of the S&P 500, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices, giving their gyrations an outsized impact on broader markets.

Hedge fund manager David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital, a longtime tech bear, told clients in a letter this week that tech stocks were in the middle of an “enormous bubble” that popped when the S&P 500 hit its record high on Sept 2, 2020.

Technology stocks tumbled in the past week's selloff, though earnings results from companies like Facebook, Alphabet and Amazon have shown how the tech giants expanded their businesses this year.

"It has become more difficult for mega-cap tech to surprise on the upside," analysts at UBS Global Wealth Management said in a note Friday.

Some investors pointed to recent hearings in Washington as a sign that increased regulations will come to the sector no matter which party takes control in Washington.

The Justice Department’s lawsuit against Google in late October marked the first time the US government has cracked down on a major tech company since it sued Microsoft Corp MSFT.O for anti-competitive practices in 1998.

"This may be the only bi-partisan issue out there," Pacific Life's Gokhman said.

An expected US$2 trillion stimulus package by Biden, who leads Trump in national polls by 10 percentage points, could enhance the appeal of out-of-favor stocks like construction equipment and materials companies, investors said.

A shift to value stocks "is increasingly likely over the next 12 months," said Eduardo Costa, who runs hedge fund Calixto Global Investors, LP.

Calixto, which invests largely in technology, media, and telecom stocks, has returned 30% since January, an investor said.

Potentially higher taxes under a Biden administration are another worry. Biden has proposed increasing the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%, potentially weighing on companies' earnings.

A separate proposal to tax capital gains and dividends as ordinary income could prompt some investors to sell winners, in order to lock in lower tax rates, analysts said.

Brian Jacobsen, senior investment strategist at Wells Fargo Asset Management, said his firm has been underweighting the Nasdaq Composite and is moving more of its portfolios into cyclical stocks with more compelling valuations, especially industrials.

"We've done some scenario analysis and thinking through various permutations of who controls Congress and the White House and our general view is that it might not matter all that much," he said.


##https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/big-tech-stocks-may-face-postelection-headwinds-no-matter-who-wins

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-11-01 19:02 | Report Abuse

For time being...avoid tech related stocks due to super rich valuation & unable to jive the earnings growth...

US NASDAQ is indicator...unable to break psychology level 12,000 (twice) & very high possibility can downside correction to 9,000 ~ 9,500 range...

Posted by DannyArcher > 2020-11-01 20:02 | Report Abuse

Friday drop was mainly tech, our semiconductor is overcalued, those still holding should sell

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-11-02 08:05 | Report Abuse

Dow futures fall 200 points amid England stay-at-home order, U.S. election uncertainty

(PUBLISHED SUN, NOV 1 20206:12 PM ESTUPDATED 17 MIN AGO)

Stock futures fell in overnight trading on Sunday amid concern rising coronavirus cases could slow the global economy.

The losses came as England adopted a stay-at-home order and as traders braced for Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election, where a contested fight for president or the Senate could delay a much-needed fiscal stimulus for the U.S. economy.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down by 200 points. S&P 500 futures dipped 0.6% and Nasdaq 100 futures traded 0.5% lower.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Saturday England is closing all nonessential businesses for the next four weeks after more than 22,600 weekly Covid-19 cases were reported for the U.K., far higher than its first peak of 4,800 average weekly cases in the spring. People will be ordered to stay at home unless it’s for essential purposes, Johnson said.

The U.S. is also grappling with rising new coronavirus infections. The nation reported 99,321 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, beating its previous record set only a day prior, according to Johns Hopkins University. The top five records in daily cases have all been reported within the last eight days.

Ahead of Tuesday’s election, Joe Biden holds a substantial national lead over President Donald Trump. The former vice president garnered 52% of support from registered voters versus 42% for the president, according to a NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll from Sunday.

The Senate election could also be crucial for the markets as many key policy shifts including further fiscal stimulus hinge on who holds the majority control.

“The world is still largely in a holding pattern as investors await clarity on the U.S. election,” Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge, said in a note Sunday. “The world will likely be a lot clearer in just a few days thanks to the election being over, stimulus talks resuming in Washington, further central bank support.”

The blue-chip Dow just closed out October with a 4.6% loss, marking its worst monthly performance since March. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell 2.8% and 2.3% last month, respectively, both suffering their second straight negative month.

The major averages are coming off their worst week since March 20 as coronavirus cases surged, fiscal stimulus negotiations fell apart and as shares of megacap tech companies including Apple and Amazon slumped following their quarterly earnings reports.

Volatility spiked to a four-month high during last week’s stock rout. The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), also known as the market’s “fear gauge,” jumped above 40 briefly.

Some on Wall Street believe the sell-off leading up to Election Day gives the market less downside risk to a contested result.

“Even though we’re worried that there could still be one more wave down if we get another big influx of uncertainty, we think the stock market is now setting up nicely for a nice net advance over the next two months or so,” Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak, said in a note on Sunday.

Apart from the election, investors are faced with other key events later this week, including a Federal Reserve policy meeting and October’s jobs report.


##https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/01/stock-market-futures-open-to-close-news.html

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-11-02 08:48 | Report Abuse

Oil sinks to five-month low, posts worst week since April on demand concerns

PUBLISHED FRI, OCT 30 20202:23 AM EDTUPDATED FRI, OCT 30 20202:45 PM EDT

Oil prices fell more than 1% on Friday, extending losses and on track for a second monthly fall, on growing concerns that the rise in COVID-19 cases in Europe and the United States could hurt fuel consumption.

Brent crude slipped for a third day and settled 19 cents, or 0.5%, lower at $37.46 per barrel, after touching a five-month low in the previous session. December Brent contract expires on Friday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled 38 cents, or 1.1%, lower at a five month low of $35.79 per barrel.

Prices had swung between parity and a more than 2% decline during Friday’s session as the “market is anxious” over renewed lockdowns in Europe and U.S. elections next week, a Singapore-based oil trader said.

OCBC’s economist Howie Lee said: “Selling pressure is piling up again.”

“Numbers don’t look good fundamentally and lockdowns not helping.”

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, are expected to raise their output by 2 million bpd in January as part of their production agreement.

However, top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia are in favour of maintaining the group’s output reduction of about 7.7 million bpd currently into next year amid lockdowns in Europe while Libya has resumed production.

OPEC+ is scheduled to meet on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 to set policy.

“With a European slowdown jeopardising global consumption and the return of Libyan production, the onus must now fall on OPEC+ to reconsider their 2 million barrel per day production increases in January,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst, Asia Pacific, at OANDA in Singapore.

Global coronavirus cases rose by a single-day record of half a million on Wednesday prompting governments across Europe to impose mobility restrictions again to curb the spread.

While that has reduced mobility and fuel consumption within Europe, demand in the United States is holding up for now, RBC Capital’s Mike Tran said in a note.

“Global mobility is becoming increasingly polarized across regions this week,” he said.

“Discretionary activity in Europe is slowing, while both driving and flying in the U.S. continue to register at the highest levels since the pandemic began.”


##https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/30/oil-markets-coronavirus.html

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-11-02 09:21 | Report Abuse

Market sentiment very weak & uncertainty...

More painful ahead at the afternoon session...

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-11-02 09:32 | Report Abuse

Seem today selling pressure from glove sector...

Market sentiment very weak & uncertainty...

More painful ahead at the afternoon session...

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-11-02 09:37 | Report Abuse

Tech stocks continue selling pressure today...

Seem today selling pressure from glove sector...

Market sentiment very weak & uncertainty...

More painful ahead at the afternoon session...

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-11-02 10:08 | Report Abuse

Foreign funds sold RM669.5m local equities in October, says MIDF
Surin Murugiah

(theedgemarkets.com / November 02, 2020 09:17 am +08)

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 2): Foreign investors sold local equities on Bursa Malaysia to the tune of RM669.52 million in October, said MIDF Research.

In its weekly fund flow report, MIDF said for the week ended on Oct 30, foreign selling slowed to RM190.04 million from RM214.4 million the prior week.

MIDF said as the market reopened last Monday, foreign investors bought RM89.80 million net of local equities, with retailers and local institutions as net sellers at RM27.19 million and RM62.61 million respectively.

“However, this inflow was negated as the week went by, with net selling gaining momentum and external markets influencing investors’ decisions.

“The largest outflow was on Friday at RM279.83 million and the smallest outflow was on Wednesday at RM118.78 million,” it said.

MIDF said so far in 2020, foreign investors' net selling had reached RM23.0 billion worth of equities on Bursa.

In comparison to another three Southeast Asian markets that it tracked last week, Indonesia recorded the least foreign net outflow, while Thailand experienced the biggest outflow compared to the others.

MIDF said in terms of retail participation, last week saw retailers turned net buyers with RM106.43 million worth of equities, while local institutions net bought RM83.61 million during the same period.

It said last week also marked a reversal to net buying after a slight pause in momentum two weeks ago.

The research house said it was the third week where there was stronger net buying by retailers after three consecutive weeks as net sellers previously.

“This is a potential signal for the return of buying appetite for retailers with bargain-hunting activities and renewed interest in glove stocks with a surge in [new] Covid-19 cases against a volatile Malaysian political backdrop.

“Net buying amounted to RM11.66 billion came from retailers thus far in 2020, while institutions bought to the tune of RM10.96 billion,” it said.

MIDF said in terms of participation, retail investors recorded a weekly decrease of 27.64% in average daily trading value (ADTV), while foreign investors experienced decrease in ADTV of 11.91% and local institutions 19.92%.


##https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/foreign-funds-sold-rm6695m-local-equities-october-says-midf

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-11-02 10:09 | Report Abuse

Foreign institutions unstoppable disposing local equities....

No encouraging for the market sentiment....

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-11-02 10:43 | Report Abuse

Faster than expected start selling pressure today...

Seem today selling pressure from glove sector...

Tech stocks continue selling pressure today...

Market sentiment very weak & uncertainty...

More painful ahead at the afternoon session...

Posted by Keyman188 > 2020-11-02 14:25 | Report Abuse

Today can support @ 1450 level !!!......

Very doubt....If today not break definitely tomorrow sure break below 1450...........