Daily Scan Asia: Light trading ahead of New Year; regional index set for annual decline

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    Happy New Year from all of us at NexChange!

    Updated throughout the day

    December 31, 2015

    The drop in oil prices on Wednesday weighed on Asia Pacific markets in light trading ahead of New Year’s Day. Oil prices fell 3.4% to $36.60 a barrel after Saudi Arabia reaffirmed a commitment to high oil production, which coincided with data showing increased U.S. crude inventories.

    Australia’s S&P ASX200 eased 0.1% at 5315.10, after nine consecutive positive sessions, as energy shares slid 0.8% (down 31% this year). Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index inched 0.1% higher and the Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.1%.

    Japan’s market was closed on Thursday, but it was the region’s second best performer this year after China, posting a 9.1% gain as the weak yen boosted the country’s exporters’ earnings.

    But, weak performances by Hong Kong and Taiwan markets as well as bourses throughout Southeast Asia means that the MSCI Asia Pacific Index is set to end the year about 4.4% lower.

    Here’s what else you need to know:

    Leave cancelled for armed police in London amid security operation. All 2,000 firearms officers were called in due to intelligence reports that Islamist terrorists aim to attack festivities in a European capital. New Year Eve fireworks and festivities had already been cancelled in Brussels following a terror alert. Telegraph.

    Malaysian fund 1MDB in $1.7 billion property sale. The scandal-ridden state-owned investment fund wants to draw a line under a year dominated by a debt crisis and corruption claims. It plans to sell its 60% share in the Bandar Malaysia venture in Kuala Lumpur to a joint venture made up of Iskandar Waterfront Holdings of Malaysia and the state-run China Railway Construction Corporation. Financial Times (paywall)

    White House prepares new Iran sanctions. The move would target companies and individuals in Iran, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates. This would be the first such move since the Obama Administration signed a nuclear pacts with Iran in July. It would punish anyone who has helped Iran develop a ballistic-missile program. Wall Street Journal (paywall) 

    Southeast Asia launches Asean Economic Community (AEC). After a decade-long process, 10 countries officially form a regional common market for capital, labor and goods and services on Thursday. It aims to create a trading bloc from diverse nations ranging from Singapore to Myanmar. The Wall Street Journal (paywall)

    Nasdaq claims first ever blockchain-based share sale. Nasdaq said Chain.com, a privately owned company that itself specialises in blockchain technology, had issued shares to a private investor using the U.S. exchange’s new Linq system that is based on the digital ledger technology. Financial Times (paywall)

    Amazon share price reaches record high. Shares in the world’s biggest online retailer hit an all-time high this week after what Amazon described as “record-breaking holiday season” for its delivery services, following a wave of last-minute online shopping before Christmas. Financial Times (paywall)

    KaloBios files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Investors had expected the biotech firm to go under weeks ago — until the much maligned Martin Shkreli scooped up a 50% stake in the ailing company. The unexpected move killed traders who had set up shorts after the company had announced it was at death’s door. Wall Street Journal (paywall)

    Warren Buffett faces worst year on stock market for six years. Shares in the investment guru’s conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway are down 11% this year with two more trading days to go. This would be their worst performance relative to the rest of the U.S.  stock market since 2009 and comes after he told investors earlier this year that they should judge his record based on Berkshire’s share price, rather than the book value of the company, his preferred yardstick for decades. Financial Times (paywall)

    IMF: Global economic growth will disappoint in 2016. Managing director Christine Lagarde says the rising interest rates in the U.S. and the economic slowdown in China will make the world economy vulnerable next year. “Global growth will be disappointing and uneven in 2016,” wrote Lagarde in a German newspaper. Reuters

    Apple to pay $348 million in Italy. Apple’s Italian subsidiary will pay to settle tax fraud allegations in the country. Italy says Apple failed to pay 880 million euros in taxes between 2008 and 2013. BBC

    Islamic State issues rules for sex with captive women. IS theologians have issued a ruling or fatwa on when “owners” of women enslaved by the extremist group can have sex with them, in an apparent bid to curb what they called violations in the treatment of captured females. The United Nations and human rights groups have accused the IS of the systematic abduction and rape of thousands of women and girls as young as 12. Reuters

    No year-end cheer for Noble Group. The share price of the Singapore-listed commodities trader dropped 4.6% after Moody’s Investors Services cut its credit rating to junk status. Shares in the firm, which has faced allegations of accounting irregularities, have fallen 64% this year. Financial Times (paywall)

    Macau casinos’ falling house of cards.  Full-year gambling revenue in the Chinese territory is expected to have fallen by about a third compared with last year to $30 billion when leading operators report next week. Revenue in November was 16.43 billion patacas ($2.06 billion), the lowest monthly figure since 2010. The Wall Street Journal (paywall)

    You won’t believe this…

    Seven-year old boy racks up £4,000 bill playing Jurassic World on dad’s iPad. Mohamed Shugaa didn’t realise his son Faisall knew the password for his tablet and only found out he had been playing the dinosaur game when his bank card was declined. Mohamed said he called Apple, telling them he was a ‘grown man’ and wouldn’t spend nearly £4,000 ($6,500) on a ‘daft’ computer game. Unfortunately, there are probably rather too many adults who would. Telegraph

    Photo: Cells Photos