I. Yesterday’s News
International News

1. U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he was "very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea" and that such moves would prevent "a friendly solution" to the crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear programme. "Caught RED HANDED - very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea. There will never be a friendly solution to the North Korea problem if this continues to happen!" Trump wrote in a post on Twitter. China earlier on Thursday said there had been no U.N. sanction-breaking oil sales by Chinese ships to North Korea after a South Korean newspaper said Chinese and North Korean vessels had been illicitly linking up at sea to get oil to North Korea.

2. Facing lawsuits and consumer outrage after it said it slowed older iPhones with flagging batteries, Apple Inc is slashing prices for battery replacements and will change its software to show users whether their phone battery is good. In a posting on its website Thursday, Apple apologized over its handling of the battery issue.

3. A consortium led by SoftBank Group Corp will buy a large number of shares of Uber Technologies Inc in a deal that values the ride-services firm at $48 billion, Uber said on Thursday. The price is a roughly 30 percent discount to Uber's most recent valuation of $68 billion. The deal will trigger a number of changes in the way the board oversees the company, which is dealing with federal criminal probes, a high-stakes lawsuit and an overhaul of its workplace culture.

4. Britain's biggest and most important oil and gas pipeline Forties should resume normal flows around the new year, slightly earlier than previously flagged, its operator Ineos said on Thursday. Ineos had previously expected the pipeline to resume normal operations in early January.

Domestic News

5. China will allot revenue from the environmental protection tax to local governments to motivate participation in the fight against pollution and improve environment. China's Environment Tax Law will be effective on Jan. 1, 2018, according to a decree by the State Council.

6. Regarding the outlook for China's foreign trade in 2018, the spokesman of Commerce Ministry Gao Feng said all parties are generally optimistic about global economic growth next year. "From the domestic point of view, we will continue to encourage companies to enhance their innovation-driven growth ability, increase the contribution of scientific research and development to foreign trade, and raise production efficiency in a sustainable manner," said Gao.

7. Half of U.S. soybeans exported to China this year would not meet Chinese rules for routine delivery in 2018, according to shipping data reviewed by Reuters, signaling new hurdles in the $14-billion-a-year business.

8. China'sCITIC Trust Co Ltd has pledged to regulators it will reduce its business with banks next year, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday, in order to comply with regulatory requirements.

II. Market Overview
FX
1. Global Market

The dollar fell to a one-month low versus a basket of currencies on Thursday on a less upbeat U.S. growth outlook after the passage of major tax cuts, while bitcoin declined for a second day after South Korea stiffened rules on cryptocurrency trading. The dollar index was last down 0.45 percent at 92.609. The dollar index has dropped more than 9 percent this year, putting it on track for its biggest annual slide since 2003. The euro rose 0.55 percent to $1.1951 after touching its highest in a month. It has gained about 14 percent so far this year, setting up for its best annual performance since 2003. Bitcoin was last down 9.31 percent at $13,891.30 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange. Bitcoin has dwarfed any gains in traditional assets this year, with a 1,300 percent gain.

2. Home Market

China's yuan edged up against the dollar in the morning session on Thursday, with the official midpoint rates hitting a 3-1/2-month high. A softer dollar index that crossed below the key mark of 93 spurred bargain hunting. Yuan is expected to expected to extend wide rangebound due to tight liquidity.

Precious Metals

Gold extended a nine-day rally on Thursday and hit a one-month high on a strong technical outlook and a U.S. dollar at a four-week low, as palladium prices reversed earlier losses to touch fresh 17-year highs. Spot gold was up at $1,294.75 per ounce after hitting its highest since Nov. 29 at $1,295.21 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for February delivery settled up 0.45 percent at $1,297.20 per ounce. Palladium touched its highest since February 2001 at $1,072, continuing its climb on expectations of short supplies and strong demand.

Commodities
1.Crude Oil

Oil prices edged up on Thursday, remaining near 2-1/2-year highs after data showed strong demand for crude imports in China and on increased U.S. refining activity that drew more crude from inventories. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 20 cents to $59.84 a barrel. Brent crude futures settled up at $66.18 a barrel.

2.Base Metals

Copper prices jumped to a four-year peak on Thursday as funds bet on strong demand in top consumer China and supply disruptions in top producer Chile leaving the market short of the metal used widely in power and construction. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange ended up 0.7 percent at $7,289 a tonne from an earlier $7,312.5, its highest since January 2014. It is up more than 30 percent so far this year and on course for its largest annual rise since 2009. Aluminium closed up 1.4 percent at $2,283, the highest since March 2012. It is up more than 30 percent so far this year. Three-month zinc gained 0.9 percent to $3,302. So far this year it is up about 28 percent.

U.S. Treasuries
1. U.S. Bonds

U.S. Treasury prices dipped on Thursday, giving back some of Wednesday’s strong month-end extension rally, after the Treasury Department sold $28 billion of seven-year notes to moderate demand. The 10-year yields rose back to 2.436 percent. The yield curve between two-year and 10-year notes edged higher to 53 basis points, after falling to 50 basis points on Wednesday, the flattest level since Oct. 2007.

2. Chinese bonds

Yields of cash bonds in China’s interbank market steadied in thinned trading ahead of the New Year, while two benchmark Treasury bonds were quite active in financial futures exchange as investors took a preemptive action in anticipation of loosened liquidity after the New Year.

Stock Market
1. U.S. Equities

U.S. stocks edged higher in light trading on Thursday, buoyed by gains in financial stocks and as technology stocks continued to slowly recover from a losing skid. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 63.21 points, or 0.26 percent, to 24,837.51, the S&P 500 gained 4.92 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,687.54 and the Nasdaq Composite added 10.82 points, or 0.16 percent, to 6,950.16.

2. Hong Kong Equities

Hong Kong's benchmark stock index rose for a fourth session in a row on Thursday, amid bullish sentiment in the region that pushed Asian stocks to their highest level in a month. At close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 266.05 points or 0.9 percent at 29,863.71. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 0.57 percent to 11,683.99.

3. China Equities

Chinese stocks rose on Thursday, lifted by distilleries after liquor producer Kweichow Moutai announced price hikes next year, and non-ferrous metals, steel and coal. But tight liquidity dragged middle and small caps down in the afternoon. Major indexes are expected to remain wide rangebound. The Shanghai Composite Index closed up 20.60 points or 0.63 percent at 3,296.38. The trading volume of Shanghai A-shares rose to 207.9 billion yuan from 198.1 billion yuan.