The Afternoon Update with Lynlee Foo

There may be some strong Valentine’s Day rally in stock markets, as investors may be buying more in anticipation of a positive market sentiment. So how have love-related stocks been faring ahead of Valentine's Day? Was there a boost leading up to the romantic day of the year? And how much would you spend on a first date? On The Afternoon Update's Financial Hit, Hongbin Jeong is joined by Sean Cheong to discuss whether love is up in the air for markets.

Traders are now pushing back on bets that the first US Fed interest rate cut will be from July, instead of May. That’s after data overnight in the US showed inflation was stickier than expected last month. The rally that had been predicated on the belief that the central bank’s imminent pivot to interest-rate cuts slammed into reality, as those bets are being frantically rolled back. So should investors trim their equity exposure? What about Asian markets - are there any opportunities there? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Steve Brice, Chief Investment Officer at Standard Chartered Bank, to find out more. Highlights: 1. Can markets continue this rally or at its peak? Is another market correction coming? - 1:09 2. Is now the time to increase the exposure on equities? Or with short-term volatility ahead, is now the time for investors to trim their equity exposure a little bit? - 1:48 3. Meanwhile, over in Asia, it seems like Asia ex-Japan equity markets saw a revival in investor sentiment last week. What triggered this shift? - 6:01 4. China unveiled several measures to help save its recent stock market rout. Do those measures look promising? - 6:52 5. How are markets faring at the moment, amid thin trading due to a shorter week for most Asian markets as well as China markets closed? - 8:53

For professional fund selectors, uncertainty in financial markets is the main theme for this year when allocating assets. Recession is still a top concern - as global tensions continue to escalate, there’s still a long way to go for economic growth, and interest rates are still here for higher for longer. So can we expect more stock market volatility? How are fund selectors mitigating the risks? Which assets do they see opportunities this year? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Dave Goodsell, Executive Director of Natixis Center for Investor Insight, to find out more about the key findings of Natixis Investment Manager’s latest Fund Selector Outlook Survey. 

On What's Trending, over the weekend, The Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl, downing the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime in Las Vegas. And Taylor Swift was of course there, supporting her boyfriend Travis Kelce. After the Chief's victory, Kelce mumbled three words to her - "Come here girl". And as Kelce and Swift's love story continues to dominate headlines, Kanye West hits back once again to try to steal Swift's spotlight.

Chinese officials are doing whatever they can to stabilise the stock market… a slew of markets have been announced with the latest - the replacement of the head of the securities regulator. Investors are closely watching Beijing as they await more forceful policy to secure the turnaround. Meanwhile, while China is busy with its stock market rout, global equities are approaching records and even neighbouring Asian markets are relatively unscathed. So why aren’t regional equities not impacted more by the recent rout? Is China’s rescue plans enough for the rally to sustain? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Sani Hamid, Director for Wealth Management, Financial Alliance, to find out more. 

While shares of Nvidia, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet have continued their climb from last year, two stocks in the Magnificent 7 haven’t pulled their weight - Apple and Tesla. Should they be removed? Should the Magnificent 7 be re-named as the Magnificent 5? On The Afternoon Update's Financial Hit, Hongbin Jeong is joined by Sean Cheong as they discuss some other names that could replace the laggards. 

On What's Trending, a dragon emerged at red-themed HDB blocks in Tampines North that made headlines in 2023 for their “creepy” aesthetic. A couple had decorated one of the blocks with a dragon design, but unfortunately got removed before the new year.  Also on What's Trending, what if airlines started weighing your body weight before you on-board your flight? 

The US dollar has recently pulled back from a nearly three-month high against major currencies hit at the beginning of the week. The greenback was rallying as much as 1.4 per cent against the euro after unexpectedly strong US jobs data, as well as diminished bets for an early interest rate cut. But while hopes of a March rate cut have been ruled out, is the market still showing some reluctance to go all in on the long US dollar trade, given the high conviction around rate cuts later in the year? To find out more, I’ll be speaking to Peter Chia, Senior FX Strategist, UOB, to find out more about the path of the US dollar as well as of other Asian currencies.

On What's Trending today, Taylor Swift has kicked of the Asian leg of her Eras Tour starting with Tokyo. Thousands of fans gathered and lined up at Tokyo Dome hours before the show began. Some experts say she can even singlehandedly boost Japan's GDP.  Also on What's Trending, Beyoncé has revealed a new haircare line - called Cécred. Will this new product be the key to her long luxurious hair? 

Colour analysis to produce a palette that best compliaments your skin and hair tone may have become the latest trend, but have you given any thought to how the dyes for your clothes are produced? Colorifix is on a mission to tackle toxic dye pollution caused by the industry and reduce water consumption.  Rachel Kelly speaks to Orr Yarkoni, Founder and CEO of Colorifix to find out more.