Reset with Lynlee

On The Afternoon Update, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Candace Li, Research Analysts at the SGX for market wrap of the week. We find out how the STI fared in the past week, the biggest movers, as well as some economic news including how Singapore's 2023 growth forecast was cut to 1%, what that means for Singapore's economy as well the retails sales data that showed 1.1% growth year-on-year.

In the past several weeks, Brent oil prices have risen by more than 8%. And they’re set to rise further as Saudi Arabia and Russia extend oil export cuts.  Earlier this week Saudi Arabia and Russia extended voluntary oil supply cuts to year end, with the Saudi cutting by 1 million barrels per day and Russia cutting 300,000 bpd. These were on top of the April cut agreed by several OPEC+ producers running to the end of 2024. Some traders speculate crude to rally towards the $100 rally. But is that too optimistic?  On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Kurt Barrow, Refining & LPG/NGLs Lead of Oil Markets at S&P Global Commodity Insights, to find out more. 

Gold prices remain pressured at the lowest level in a week, after declining the most in a month the previous day. That's as the United States soft landing concerns underpin the US Dollar strength. The dollar, meanwhile, is ignoring softer US data while cheering the hawkish Fed. On top of that, downbeat concerns about China, one of the world’s gold consumers, are now also favoring the Gold sellers. On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Priyanka Sachdeva, Senior Market Analyst at Phillip Nova, to find out more about gold price movements. 

The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points in their last meeting. Now speculations are rising that they might end their tightening cycle soon. But with interest rates remaining high, how should investors be allocating their assets in order to get the best returns? Should you be looking at REITs and Money Market Funds? To find out more, on Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Wilfred Lim, Head of Strategy, Investment Solutions at PhillipCapital. Highlights:  01:12 - How have REITs and money market funds performed so far this year?  02:02 - Why should investors look at REITs and money market funds in a rising rate environment? 03:30 - What kind of opportunities are there in REITs and money market funds?  04:30 - Are they any specific REITs or money market funds investors should take note of? 07:00 - What’s the outlook on money market funds and REITs for the rest of the year?

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 after the nation rolled out further property support measures, the latest in a robust campaign to rescue the struggling sector that’s been dragging down the economy. On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Thilan Wickramasinghe, Head of Equity Research, Maybank Securities, to delve further into these market movements.

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 chipmaker Arm on the Nasdaq is garnering worldwide attention. It is set to be the biggest offering of the year - could it reignite IPO activity in the tech sector? Furthermore, electric car maker Vinfast has been dominating news headlines with some staggering share price jumps and falls in recent times. What's behind the volatility? On Money in the Market, Emaad Akhtar speaks to Shauraya Bhutani, Co-Founder & Partner, Capital Connect Advisors to find out more.

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 hit last year, which marked the currency’s weakest level in more than 15 years.  The slide has pushed the central bank, the People’s Bank of China, to step up its defence of the currency in recent weeks. So what’s next for the yuan? Emaad Akhtar speaks to Khoon Goh, Head of Research, ANZ to find out more.

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 viewed attractively as a haven from the rising economic issues in China and a hawkish Federal Reserve which is prepared to keep raising interest rates. What is making Singapore governments this attractive? On Money in the Market, Emaad Akhtar speaks to Selena Ling, Chief Economist at OCBC Bank to find out more. Highlights:  02:34 - How does a bond market sell-off result in higher Treasury yields? 03:38 - To what extent is it true that competition for yields is moving flows from the stock market to bonds? 04:55 - Will the trend of positive net foreign inflows for Asian bonds continue? 06:01 - What makes Singapore government bonds so attractive in the current climate? 09:21 - Is this a good time to be investing in bonds?

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 careful in where it goes from here, the central bank leader said inflation is still above where policymakers feel comfortable.  He noted that the Fed will remain flexible as it contemplates further moves, but gave little indication that it’s ready to start easing anytime soon. So what does this mean for markets and in the eyes of investors as we move into the final quarter of 2023? On Money in the Market, Emaad Akhtar speaks to Tassia Sipahutar, Asia Cross-Asset Reporter, Bloomberg News to find out more. 

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 buy the managed currency. Meanwhile, the greenback rallied toward a three-month high today as traders mulled the possibility of higher-for-longer interest rates ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole symposium later today. Emaad Akhtar speaks to Philip Wee, Senior FX Strategist, DBS to find out more about the latest movements in currency markets.