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According to Bloomberg, the strength of the US stock rally in 2023 has taken several market participants by surprise. Bulls, however, point to solid economic growth in the face of high interest rates as a sign of confidence. Outperforming tech names, boosted by the artificial intelligence frenzy, have helped sustain those gains. Chinese stocks - and, by extension, Asian shares - have also jumped a...

The continuously rising fortunes of the Magnificent Seven group of megacap stocks - those with a capitalization or market value over $200 billion - including the likes of Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, have garnered plenty of attention in the first half of this year. What has driven this rally and is it set to continue through to the end of 2023? The upcoming initial public offering of British chipmake...

China’s currency, the yuan, is heading towards its lowest level against the dollar since the 2008 financial crisis.  Analysts expect its strength to be further tested in the coming weeks as the country’s rebound from the pandemic hasn’t gone according to plan. The currency has dropped more than 5 percent against the dollar this year, touching 7.29 to the greenback and just shy of the high of 7.32...

The US bond market was hit by a fresh round of selling pressure Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank remains prepared to push interest rates higher and keep them elevated if needed to keep reining in inflation. What’s the correlation between the two? Asian bonds recorded net foreign inflows for a fifth straight month in July. Singapore government bonds are being v...

This year’s Jackson Hole Symposium, which brings together the leading central banking heads of the world, was held in the US state of Wyoming.  On Friday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell called for more vigilance in the fight against inflation, warning that additional interest rate increases could be yet to come. While acknowledging that progress has been made and saying the Fed will be carefu...

Worries about China’s slowing economy and its widening interest-rate differential with the US have sent its currency, the yuan, tumbling some 5% this year, though it has fared better against the currencies of other trading partners. The People’s Bank of China has introduced a variety of measures to slow the depreciation, including stronger-than-expected reference rates and urging state banks to bu...

On The Afternoon Update, Emaad Akhtar is joined by Geoff Howie, Market Strategist at the SGX , for a market wrap of the week. They discuss how the STI performed in the past week; the biggest movers on the STI; the reasons behind Singtel's sharp decline in net profits for the first quarter ended June 30 of the 2024 FY; Singapore's most recent core and headline inflation numbers; the objective of th...

Oil has posted a modest decline in recent days amid signs that supplies are rebounding while concerns linger about demand in China, the world’s biggest crude importer. Observed exports from Iran have surged to 2.2 million barrels a day this month, and Turkey and Iraq have held a sudden flurry of talks as they seek to restart a major oil pipeline. Efforts by OPEC+ linchpins Saudi Arabia and Russia...

You may have heard, COP28 is taking place in Dubai this year. But what is COP, and why does it matter? Here’s an explainer and what you need to know! In this episode of Eco Money you'll hear from industry players on what they hope from this year's COP. Comments from: Anita Neville, Vice President of Corporate Communications and Sustainability Relations, Golden Agri-Resources Dale Hardcastle, Globa...

Asian equities traded mixed today as Wall Street’s risk-on mood faded a day after the rally in big tech.  Mainland Chinese stocks returned under pressure despite fresh signs of an earnings recovery among the country’s tech giants. The selling in mainland China came even as internet giant Baidu released financial results that showed its revenue rose the most in more than a year.  The company report...

August hasn’t been a great month for technology stocks. Before the start of this week, the Big Tech companies, notably Apple, Nvidia, Meta and Microsoft fell at least 10 percent from their highs in July. Tesla, meanwhile, declined by more than 25 percent in that period.  Yesterday, however, Nvidia's shares soared as more analysts raised their price targets on the stock, a potential sign of growing...

A three-way contest for the presidency is officially under way among former GIC investment chief Ng Kok Song, 75, former senior minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, 66, and former NTUC Income chief Tan Kin Lian, 75. The three presidential hopefuls all successfully filed their nomination papers, before delivering their nomination speeches.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Global stock markets have been jittery in recent weeks owing to the economic turmoil that is erupting within China.  A Chinese media outlet recently reported that China plans to allow local governments to sell 1.5 trillion yuan ($205.9 billion) of special financing bonds to help 12 regions repay debt. The report added that the People’s Bank of China may even set up a special purpose vehicle with b...

The U.S. economy has surprised analysts and investors alike, posting stellar results despite continuing predictions of a looming recession. It posted two quarters of positive growth in the first half of 2023, and both the labour market and consumer spending are expected to remain strong in the months to come. So should recession fears be put to bed entirely, and will we face a hard, soft, or perha...

On The Afternoon Update, Hongbin Jeong is joined by Geoff Howie, Market Strategist at the SGX , for a market wrap of the week. They discuss how the STI performed in the past week; the biggest movers on the STI; the outlook for Singapore's economy following a 10th consecutive month of contractions in non-oil domestic exports; China's weak economic data and the PBOC's response; and the minutes from...

This week, the Chinese yuan declined to its lowest level in 9 months following the release of grim economic data that added to concerns about weakening growth.  China's major state-owned banks were reportedly seen selling US dollars to snap up yuan in both onshore and offshore spot markets, with the measures aimed primarily at helping the currency recover. The People’s Bank of China also set the f...

Despite a slump in global markets in 2022, Singapore's Straits Times Index remained one of the best performing benchmarks. So what made the STI outperform its competition?  Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, should we expect positive returns from investing in Singapore shares? Are there certain sectors that stand out, or investment trends worth examining? On Money in the Market, Hongbin J...

Bitcoin's price stability in recent times has led some analysts to view it as a strong sign the digital assets market has matured and is becoming less fragmented. So is this period of low volatility for Bitcoin expected to continue? And what has prompted renewed interest in meme coins such as Shiba Inu?  Worldcoin, a new cryptocurrency created by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has also been grabbing the h...

China's CSI 300 index just capped its worst week since March, a reflection of the impact deflation is having on the nation's stock market. The ailing property sector, which makes up about a fifth of China’s GDP, has also been in the headlines with Country Gardens, one of the biggest Chinese developers, facing a liquidity crunch that has bad omens for the economy. What measures, aside from monetary...

A new COVID-19 variant that has been making rounds.  It’s been dubbed Eris, officially designated EG.5. But with our lifestyles now basically back to pre-pandemic.. Should we be concerned? Are we ready for any potential outbreak? On What's Trending, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Dr Leong Hoe Nam, Infectious Disease Expert at the Rophi Clinic , to find out more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...

In recent days Chinese stocks in Hong Kong have tumbled as disappointing trade data added to investor concerns about the strength of the economic recovery and as worries about the real estate sector intensified. Plus, President Joe Biden imposed limits on US investments in China as part of a push to restrict the country’s ability to develop next-generation military and surveillance technologies th...

On The Afternoon Update, Hongbin Jeong is joined by Geoff Howie, Market Strategist at the SGX , for a market wrap of the week. They discuss how the STI performed in the past week; the biggest movers on the STI; the sectors expected to benefit from Singapore Airlines' decision to step up flights to key markets; the impact increasing delistings may have on the SGX's attractiveness for companies who...

Earlier this it was announced that Malaysia will lift a ban on exports of renewable energy. Rachel Kelly speaks with   J Y Chew, Head of Asia Renewables & Power Research , Rystad Energy, to find out what this might mean for Singapore when it comes to the energy sector and your power bills.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Q2 gold demand dropped slightly by 2% year-on-year, driven by a marked deceleration in net central bank buying compared to above average purchases in Q2 of 2022. But despite the drop and softer central bank demand, gold was still supported. To find out more about the demand for gold in the 2nd quarter in Singapore and globally, on Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Shaokai Fan, Head of A...

There are several questions on the minds of investors - whether the outlook for earnings-per-share (EPS) growth reflects a soft landing, whether the EPS predictions have fully reflected in valuations, and how equities might respond to interest rates’ remaining higher for longer. In fact, in response to the current market environment, a stock index that tracks broad global equity-market performance...