The Afternoon Update with Lynlee Foo

Unclear prospects for demand in China have already weighed on luxury stocks since the post COVID restrictions. And it’s promoted a reassessment of such luxury brands’ business strategies. But can luxury stocks rebound from its rout? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Tao Zhang, China Markets Editor, Bloomberg to find out how investors can navigate the luxury market.  Highlights: 1. What factors contributed to the significant increase in return rates for upscale labels on Tmall during the shopping festival? What does this tell us about China’s economy and consumer sentiment? - 1:22 2. Does the increase in product returns highlight the imperative for luxury brands to redefine their strategies for the Chinese market?Should they venture out to other markets around the world? - 3:24 3. Does this have a big impact on luxury stocks itself? How have luxury stocks fared so far?- 5:13 4. Do analysts believe that sentiment towards luxury brands will return, or are they in a new normal right now? - 9:57 5. Are there any other possibilities of luxury stocks rebounding or surging anytime soon?- 11:17

On What’s Trending, we’ll be talking about Taylor Swift’s newest album - The Tortured Poets Department - and what kind of theories has been circulating online. Also, Queen’s University introduced a new Taylor Swift course called “Law (Taylor’s Version).”

US Fed officials have questioned the need for a cut anytime soon, leaving traders mulling the outlook for US interest rates. Expectations of rate cuts have fallen from six in the beginning of the year to now - just two, while some even expect a possible hike. On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Gautam Chadda, Head of Investment and Portfolio Advisory (Singapore) at RBC Wealth Management Asia, to find out more of the trajectory of rate cuts and how investors can navigate this landscape. 

On The Afternoon Update, Hongbin Jeong is joined by Carmen Lee, Head of OCBC Investment Research, for a market wrap of the week. They discuss how the STI has performed in the past week, how the latest heightened tension in the Middle East is affecting local markets, outlook of the earnings season and how the new Prime Minister in May may affect markets.

Saxo has recently released a quarterly report titled “2024: The Wasted Year”. But why is 2024 a wasted year? What lies ahead for the upcoming quarter, and how can investors navigate the uncertainties surrounding rate cuts, politics and geopolitical issues? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Charu Chanana, Head of FX Strategy and Global Market Strategist at Saxo, to find out more. 

On What’s Trending, we talk about the escape of 100 huskies from a pet cafe in China. And the second generation of The Beatles released a new song.

The Sustainable City is the first operational Net Zero Energy city in Dubai, modelled to become an international showcase for high quality sustainable living. It’s been 9 years since the first set of keys were handed over to tenants in this community with solar panel clad homes and shaded vehicle free pedestrian streets. Now, it’s been one year since I moved to Dubai and I can’t help but wonder why there aren’t more of such developments across the globe. To find out more about the project, I caught up with Marwa Al Nahlawi, General Manager of Diamond Developers.

Nearly 100 millimetres of rain fell over the course of just 12 hours yesterday in Dubai. Rushing water inundated homes and businesses, roads have turned into rivers, and planes into boats. On What's Trending, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Rachel Kelly, who is currently residing in Dubai, to give us a scoop on what the situation is like now.

With escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, traders have been eyeing commodity markets including oil and gold. Oil prices retreated to start the week despite the conflict as prices had already risen in expectation of an action by Iran, while gold also traded down, trading below last week’s high. On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Priyanka Sachdeva, Senior Market Analyst, Phillip Nova, to find out more about the developments in these commodities.

Ether has been making big moves in recent moves, and that's as all eyes are on the US Securities and Exchange Commission and whether they will approve an exchange-traded fund for the cryptocurrency. But some issuers are not confident the SEC will give the greenlight to the ether applications. Meanwhile, Hong Kong, earlier this week, has given initial approval to its first spot bitcoin and ether exchange traded funds. So why is there a divergence between these regulatory approaches, and what implications could this hold for the cryptocurrency space moving forward? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Carney Mak, Partner at FXHB Asset Management, to find out more.