SGX IForex Recommendations

TRADING TIPS :

USD/JPY up 0.54% to 119.08.Modest gains in Asian equity markets overnight dampened demand for the safe haven yen as investor sentiment recovered following a selloff earlier in the week.The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, hit nine-year highs of 92.14 and was last at 91.97, supported by weakness in the euro.The Federal Reserve was to publish the minutes of its latest policy meeting later Wednesday, which were expected to provide further indications on the future direction of monetary policy.

INTRADAY OUTLOOK

Support: 118.55

Resistance: 119.37

RECOMMENDATION:

1. Buy USD/JPY Above 119.40-TG: 119.60/119.90 SL 119.10

2. Sell USD/JPY Below 118.53-TG: 118.33/118.03 SL 118.83

INTRADAY OUTLOOK

Immediate Support: 1.1818

Immediate Resistance: 1.1876

RECOMMENDATION:

1. Buy EUR/USD Above -1.1878 TG: 1.1898/1.1928 SL 1.1848

2. Sell EUR/USD Below -1.1815 TG:1.1795/1.1765 SL 1.1845

SGX Stock Recommendations

MARKET UPDATES :

• THE 2015 Singapore Budget statement will be delivered on Feb 23 by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.There will be a live television and radio coverage of the Budget statement.A live webcast of the delivery will also be available on the Singapore Budget website. The statement will also be uploaded on the website after the speech has been delivered.

• The plunge in crude prices will give a much-needed boost to Asia’s oil-guzzling economies and provides governments a “golden opportunity” to implement crucial structural reforms such as cutting expensive energy subsidies, analysts say.A slowdown in the key export markets of Europe, China and Japan, the end of US stimulus measures, and an expected US rate hike – fuelling a flight of foreign cash in search of better returns – has left some governments having to make tough decisions to get back on track.

• CHINESE shipbuilder JES International Holdings saw 107.861 million shares switching hands by noon on Wednesday, pushing its share price up 17.65 per cent. Its counter jumped 0.06 cent to S$0.04.This has prompted the Singapore Exchange to query the mainboard-listed company on unusual trading activity.Besides shipbuilding, JES provides diversified services from offshore engineering to global trading and investment.It has its shipbuilding and offshore engineering base in China’s Jiangsu province. The company also has research and development, sales and marketing, as well as procurement centres in Singapore.

• UOB is suing Lippo Group’s subsidiary and seven others over SGD181m in housing loans for the purchase of 38 condominium units at Marina Collection in Sentosa. Loans for 37 of these have defaulted. It said it was not informed of the 22-34% discounts offered for the units and that the buyers had secured inflated home loans from the bank.

• First Resources is relatively better positioned among peers to ride through the headwinds and deliver decent profits. FR’s strength lies in its balanced age profile that ensures good production growth and cash flow. This, together with prudent cost control and flexible downstream operations, makes FR one of the most profitable plantation companies.

• OUE Hospitality Trust – Looking past near-term volatility-:Recent market data point to potentially softer earnings in 4Q14 as the hotel segment continues to be impacted by slow visitor arrivals and rupiah volatility. Despite potential near-term earnings fluctuations, we remain bullish on OUE-HT as we believe this REIT is well-positioned to ride on a more sanguine tourism outlook for 2015. We reiterate our Add rating with a slightly higher DDM-based (discount rate: 7.9%) target price of S$1.00 which factors in additional income from the recently announced CPCA acquisition.

Forex Market Update

The euro moved off a nine-year low reached Wednesday morning as bargain-driven investors scooped up the currency at its lows.

In recent trade, the euro EURUSD, -0.11% was worth $1.183, slightly above a 9-year low of $1.180 reached earlier in Wednesday’s session.


The yen also weakened against the dollar USDJPY, +0.40%   in early North American trade, continuing a trend that began in the Asia trading day. The yen traded at 119.20, compared to 118.71 Tuesday.

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.11%  , a measure of the dollar’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six currencies, was up 0.61% on the day to 92.0540,slightly below a nine-year high reached earlier in the session.

The krone USDNOK, -0.11%  traded at 7.70 to the dollar Wednesday afternoon. It traded at 7.74 to the dollar Tuesday afternoon.