Market Update - 9 July 2013

• Wall Street ended in higher with the DOW +0.59%, the S&P +53% and the NASDAQ +0.16%, as investors geared up for the start of Q2 earnings. 

• European shares closed higher with the FTSE 100 +1.17%, after the positive reactions from Wall Street and better news from Greece and Portugal, notably with Greece getting EUR2.5bn this month while Portugal’s government agreeing to a cabinet reshuffle in a bid to end its political turmoil. 

• KLCI ended 0.53% lower on Monday as Asian equities tumbled on QE3 tapering fears. That said, overnight gains in Wall Street could boost sentiment intra-day, possibly reversing the trajectory of the bourse that continues to be trading almost purely on external cues. 

• BNM is widely expected to hold the overnight policy rate unchanged at 3.00% this week and thus, the meeting is likely to be a non-event. 

• USD/MYR still above 3.2000 mark this morning, today’s expected range is 3.1950 – 3.2100