MarketWrap: Wall Street rose on Monday, with the Dow Jones industrials setting fresh record highs, as services sector data gave further evidence of strength in the domestic economy. - Reuters

The DJIA rose 45.82 points, or 0.24%, to 19,216.24, the S&P 500 gained 12.76 points, or 0.58%, to 2,204.71 and the Nasdaq added 53.24 points, or 1.01%, to 5,308.89.

Forex summary

*The ringgit gained 0.09% to 4.4445 per US$

*It was 1.09% lower at 4.7819 per euro

*Down 0.14% to 5.6605 per pound sterling

*Down 0.27% to 3.1315 per Singapore dollar

*0.14% lower to 3.3135 per Aussie

*0.05% lower at 3.9091 per 100 yen

Energy

US crude futures strengthened Monday before retreating in post-settlement trade as the market lost confidence Opec cuts would be sufficient to reduce oversupply given increased US drilling. Brent crude settled at US$54.94 a barrel, up 48 cents - or 0.88% - before retreating to US$54.22 a barrel. - Reuters

Top foreign stories

Gold standard for Islamic finance: The Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions has approved gold - for the first time - as an investment in Islamic finance. The group that sets standards for the industry adopted syariah-compliant rules approved on Nov 19 to allow gold to be used in the US$1.88 trillion (RM8.35 trillion) Islamic finance business, - Bloomberg

Panasonic may buy ZKW to accelerate push into auto electronics: Japan's Panasonic Corp may buy European automotive light maker ZKW Group, accelerating its push into the automotive electronics market, a person familiar with the matter said. - Reuters

Deutsche Boerse chief seeks to reassure Frankfurt on merger plan: Deutsche Boerse's chief executive has sought to reassure Frankfurt over its merger with London Stock Exchange Group, saying the German regulator will retain power over the exchange when it becomes part of a larger London-based group. - Reuters

Top local stories

Spotlight on Bank Negara reserves: All eyes are on the next international reserve data to be released by Bank Negara on Wednesday to determine how much has been used to defend the ringgit against the US dollar since Nov 11. Dealers feel the central bank could have used several billion US dollars to defend the ringgit, which has seen a steep depreciation against the greenback since the surprise election of Donald Trump as the next US president on Nov 11. - StarBiz

* Volatility of the US dollar-ringgit exchange rate is reducing, with the ringgit strengthening by 0.39% since the year’s lowest point on Nov 30. -StarBiz

Margma wants to plead with Bank Negara over ruling on currency: The local rubber glove industry’s lobby group, the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (Margma), wants to meet with Bank Negara about the recent ruling that exporters must convert 75% of their export earnings into ringgit. It hopes the central bank would review the measure. - StarBiz

Taisei Lamick owns more than 90% of Maypak: Taisei Lamick Co Ltd’s offer to take private Malaysia Packaging Industry Bhd (Maypak) has closed. It has secured 90.81% of the shares in the food packaging maker. - StarBiz

mTouche proposes rights issue to raise up to RM56m: Mtouche Technology Bhd proposes a renounceable rights issue with warrants to raise up to RM55.75mil, which will partly be used to expand its mobile services offerings and regional business. - StarBiz

MBSB to complete impairment by next year: Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB), whose earnings have been impacted by impairments for almost two years, hopes to end its impairment programme by next year, says president and chief executive officer Datuk Ahmad Zaini Othman. - StarBiz

George Kent quarterly earnings double on higher revenue: George Kent (M) Bhd posted a net profit of RM23.7mil for the three months to October 2016, compared with RM12.1mil a year earlier
Its revenue grow 26% to RM122.1mil from RM96.9mil previously. George Kent proposed a second interim dividend of two sen per share. - StarBiz

Aspen allocates RM100m to invest in new business: Aspen Group has allocated RM100mil to invest in smart-city infrastructure eco-system in partnership with the IBM. - StarBiz

Foreign investors continue selling on Bursa: Foreign investors sold a net RM780.5mil last week, more than the prior week’s RM493.3mil, MIDF Research said in a report. - StarBiz

Bina Darulaman plans RM900m GDV projects: Property developer Bina Darulaman Bhd is lining up projects with a gross development value (GDV) of RM900mil for 2017. The projects include a water theme park in the Bandar Darulaman township and a residential development in Kuala Kangsar, Perak. - Bernama

Global sukuk issuance exceeds RAM’s 2016 projection: RAM Rating Services Bhd said global sukuk issuance totalled US$72 billion (RM319.68 billion) as at end-November, exceeding the ratings agency’s projection of US$55 billion to US$65 billion for the year. - Edge FD

Asiamet proposes reorganisation: Loss-making Asiamet Education Group Bhd has proposed an acquisition and a share exchange as part of an internal reorganisation that will see a new entity assume its listed status. - Edge FD

Six more join Cradle to invest in tech start-ups: Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd has roped in six more co-investment partners to boost Malaysia’s tech start-up ecosystem, raising the total co-investment fund to RM190.2 million from RM161.2 million. - Edge FD