Wealth management opens door for Singapore remisiers
Lim noted that brokerages, banks and other financial services are converging, blurring the lines that have marked out these operations and creating new opportunities in the process.
Remisiers, for example, could move between different financial activities and diversify into other areas to work as personalised fund managers.
'I see the increasing convergence of services,' said Lim, who has certainly seen his fair share of changes in the stockbroking industry as well as market crises like the collapse of Pan-Electric Industries, a marine salvage, hotel and property conglomerate.
The Pan-Electric saga prompted the then Stock Exchange of Singapore to close for the first time ever for three days in December 1985.
'Brokerages will always be around, but stockbrokers might not. Banking will always be around, but banks might not. Insurance will always be around, but insurance companies might not,' he said, adding that a financial group can now provide all these services under one roof.
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Lim was speaking at an event at Fullerton Hotel on Apr 23 to mark PhillipCapital's 50th anniversary.
His son Luke, who is managing director of Phillip Securities, said that the firm now has more remisiers who are cross-trained in wealth management.
An individual can be both a remisier and a financial adviser if he has the necessary qualifications and licences.
Remisiers need a representative licence to operate, while financial advisers are regulated under the Financial Advisers Act. PhillipCapital has 600 remisiers and 700 financial advisers.
A remisier is a self-employed trading representative who provides advice on stocks, and buys and sells shares on behalf of clients, while financial advisers help individuals to plan for financial goals like buying a house or saving for retirement.
Fellow stock brokerage CGS International Securities Singapore said the 'convergence of services of a remisier towards a wealth manager' is a good starting point.
CGS International chief executive Malcolm Koo noted that many remisiers have more than 20 years of experience in the financial markets and the fact that they are still around shows how well they have managed risks and navigated changes. Many have also forged trusted relationships with their clients over the years, creating a 'matured pool of remisiers who have valuable financial knowledge and experience' that they can share with investors, Koo said.
This industry convergence is happening as technology reshapes the way people invest.
PhillipCapital executive chairman Lim Hua Min (left) and his son, Phillip Securities managing director Luke Lim, cutting PhillipCapital's 50th birthday cake with Gillian Tan, assistant managing director (development and international) and chief sustainability officer the Monetary Authority of Singapore. PHOTO: PHILLIPCAPITAL
Luke Lim noted the new wave of retail investors who are digitally savvy and want to make their own investment decisions. They want real-time data and want to execute trades, analyse trends and get expert advice all in one ecosystem.
PhillipCapital was the first to launch an online trading platform, Poems, in 1996 to cater to this group of self-directed investors.
Lim said: 'We moved from a traditional broker to a hybrid approach that combines digital convenience with human insight.'
Remisiers at Maybank Securities Singapore serve as 'informed touchpoints' to help clients interpret market movements or navigate the trading platform, said Alexander Thorhauge, the brokerage's head of retail business.
Thorhauge added that remisiers can tap Maybank's research database to glean insights on macroeconomic developments or on specific sectors to provide client advice.
While there will always be some folk who prefer to invest on their own, there will be others who prefer to talk to someone, especially during periods when the markets are volatile, he noted.
Ernest Lim, a remisier at CGS International, adds value to his clients by providing regular market updates and timely alerts whenever a stock is downgraded or upgraded.
He has one-on-one meetings with a listed company's senior management so he can understand each firm better and provide clients with information about its shares. Lim also makes site visits to a firm's overseas plants to get a better on-the-ground feel of the company.
He has extended exclusive access to management meetings to clients so they can find out more about the company on their own.
Lim noted that active traders appreciate the trust, consistency and added perspective that remisiers can provide.
PhillipCapital chairman Lim Hua Min back in 1975 when he first started the brokerage. PHOTO: PHILLIPCAPITAL
Fellow remisier Lek Yew Meng from Lim and Tan Securities said most of his clients are busy professionals or retirees who trade only in the Singapore market. These investors value timely, bite-sized market updates and corporate-related announcements.
He has conducted small group sessions on various topics to help clients understand market trends and explore products on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and to familiarise them with the stocks that he thinks are worth adding to their watch list.
'It is about maintaining consistent communication, investor education and personal attention,' Lek said.
The Remisier Development Programme, launched in September 2024, helps remisiers pick up new skills such as digital marketing, or learn advanced trading strategies to better manage client portfolios.
The programme is a joint initiative by the Securities Association of Singapore and the Society of Remisiers, with support from the SGX. THE STRAITS TIMES
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New Paper
15 hours ago
- New Paper
'The cult of durians is real': The S'pore merchants live selling on TikTok
When Mr Raay Lim started selling durians in May 2020 during the Covid-19 circuit breaker, he expected the long hours and physical toil, but not the non-stop yapping that would come to define his job now. Growing up, communication was never his strong suit. He had a habit of stammering and stuttering, so a career as a live streamer was the furthest thing from his mind. He went into the durian business to facilitate conversations, not lead them. "I started out because my grandma loved durians a lot. Every durian season, we'd lay out the newspaper, sit and eat together. It's something I'll always remember. So, I hope that by starting my business, I'll be able to replicate these family moments for other people," says the 32-year-old Singaporean owner of Zen Zu Fu Durians, which operates from a kerbside stall in Tiong Bahru. He set up shop first in Queenstown, then Sin Ming and Bedok, and finally Tiong Bahru. But each successive neighbourhood proved no warmer than the last, with residents reluctant to leave their homes during the pandemic. "It was very hard to build up a neighbourhood base. You need to give customers a reason to choose you over other more established stalls." To a young newcomer like him, it was clear that the traditional model of business - a bricks-and-mortar stall, steady base of neighbourhood regulars - no longer cut it. The answer, then, lay online, on the one app that was taking over the world: TikTok. Live selling has helped Mr Lim reach new audiences. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG In June 2023, Mr Lim logged on and started live selling durians for the first time. It turned out to be the right move. About 70 per cent of his revenue now comes from TikTok Shop, where mao shan wang is priced at $50 a 500g box - the same as de-husked durians at his physical stall. He estimates that he racks up six figures in total in TikTok Shop sales during the main durian season in June. The harvests in December and March yield more modest returns. Other enterprising thorn sellers started to do the same, lured by the platform's sprawling reach and quick commerce. Over the last year, the app has yielded a bumper crop. The number of durian sellers on TikTok Shop grew by some 40 per cent, while gross merchandise value surged 185 per cent year-on-year, according to the company. Sellers such as Mr Josiah Jeremy Seow of Golden Moments Durian Cafe in Bugis and Mr Tony Seah of Vlack Durian in Bukit Batok also tried to catch the wave over the last couple of years. "The era of business has changed, and we have to adapt and enter the streaming arena," says Mr Seah, a 41-year-old Singaporean. He launched Vlack in 2020 and started live selling in June 2024. The results were remarkable. By the following year, revenue had risen by 40 to 50 per cent. A 400g to 450g box of mao shan wang sells for around $60 on Vlack's TikTok Shop, 10 per cent more than at the physical store due to charges such as platform fees. Because his store is in an industrial estate, online outreach is a necessity. "We can't attract thousands of customers daily with just our physical store, but on TikTok, we can get thousands to learn about our brand." Mr Tony Seah's shop, Vlack Durian, is located at an industrial space in Bukit Batok. ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE For seasoned live streamers like Ms Emily Tan, who goes by @EmObsessed online, durians have also proven a risky - as perishable foods tend to be - but lucrative trade. She had heard that durians were one of the easiest things to sell online, with a higher eyeballs-to-sales conversion rate than other fruit. "At first, I was like, are you serious? Who buys durians on TikTok? I thought you'd want to get a feel or try the durian. But after doing one live stream, I realised the cult of durians is real," says the 32-year-old Singaporean of her first live stream with Zen Zu Fu in April. She usually touts family-centric products online such as Zappy wipes. She sold a five-figure sum from four hours with Zen Zu Fu, slightly more than the mid-four-to-five figures she usually generates from selling other products online. Friends first Online, the prickly product cannot speak for itself. It demands a personable host: charismatic, knowledgeable and ready to talk for hours. On Mr Lim's live streams, conversation ranges far beyond durians, running the gamut from routine exchanges - "How are you" and "Have you eaten?" - to deeper concerns, like the rising cost of living and how to help friends with mental health issues. The sessions can run for up to six hours. Sometimes, he chops durians concurrently. But multitasking can be exhausting and dangerous, so he takes occasional breaks from physical work to engage his viewers. "I would say it's 20 per cent selling, 80 per cent chatting," he says, taking care to differentiate himself from sellers who urge customers to just "buy, buy, buy". "To do business, you must first build your community. When people know your sincerity and who you are, they are more likely to buy from you. The way I approach the live streaming is by thinking that maybe we can be friends first." Mr Lim believes in first building rapport with customers before selling them anything. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG It seems to have worked. Viewers hang around for an average of two hours - for him, not the durians. Singaporean Ng Shu Huai, for example, has been following Zen Zu Fu's TikTok live sales for a year now. The 39-year-old, who works in the supply chain sector, tunes in every day after work and on weekends. "Raay's quite funny and the chats are always light-hearted, which helps me unwind after a long day," she says. "What keeps me coming back is Raay's honesty and sincerity. He never hard sells and remembers viewers' names, preferences and where they live." On the other hand, she adds, buying in person can be quite intimidating. It is a sentiment Mr Lim says many millennial and Gen Z customers share, which is why he thinks TikTok has helped him reach a new demographic. "Durian sellers can be intimidating in terms of their voices being loud. It's a bit hard to go down to their shop and speak to them because a lot of people can give into this kind of pressure." On TikTok, however, the customer is king. Order a box if you like what you see. If not, just swipe past. Honesty is the best policy Ms Tan is not one to beg for business. Her style, she maintains, is transparent and honest, not pushy. She adds: "If a customer says, 'Emily, I can't decide between red prawn and mao shan wang', some sellers will say, 'Buy both.' "But I'll be like, 'Ask yourself if you want to eat something sweeter or a bit bigger? And you can just purchase one. If it's good, next time, you can come back.'" Also emphasising candour, Mr Seow describes his style as educational. He starts by delving into the different types of durians and their tastes in an engaging monologue, sprinkled with facts and examples. For instance, he might explain why the price of durians is going up or break down what a bumper crop means for Singaporean buyers. "When they know that we know our stuff, that's when we establish trust and rapport," says the 36-year-old, who founded Golden Moments in 2017. Online, his durians are priced from $22 to $38 for each 400g box. Golden Moments Durian Cafe owner Josiah Jeremy Seow expanded his business to TikTok in 2023. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO The live streaming at Golden Moments runs from 1 to 10pm every day, with shifts divided into two- to three-hour long blocks hosted by in-house staff or a roster of about 20 freelancers it cycles through. Mr Seow is conscious of the difference between online consumers and those who patronise his physical store. Shoppers on TikTok are more price-conscious, as the platform allows them to compare the cost across various stores at once. "They tend to be more critical about the brand and product because they can see how many boxes have been sold and what a store's rating is like before making a decision to buy," he notes. In response, he has tightened customer service, ensuring that chats are replied to and deliveries made on time. The durians are usually delivered within 90 minutes, as promised on its TikTok page, affording quick gratification. Vlack's Mr Seah takes a similarly informative approach. He introduces himself, answers questions, discusses the season's forecast and guides viewers through the types of durians in a manner that is "very direct, very clear". Trust, in his case, is built by keeping the camera trained on a box of golden flesh, with a member of his team de-husking durians in the background. "We're a premium durian specialist, so we believe in flexing the quality of our durians, instead of attracting people by showing our faces," he quips. Because TikTok Shop accounts for 70 per cent of Vlack's sales, the team live streams from 3 to 10pm daily. Mr Seah admits that it can get tiring, even when live-selling duties are shared among his team of six. Does he ever run out of things to say? "No, I love to eat durians. So, I'm doing what I like on a daily basis." Thorny side of TikTok Not every part of the process is sweet, however. The rush hour, which is usually from 5 to 8pm and brings a surge of around 50 orders, always gives the team a bit of a headache - albeit a happy one. It has to manage expectations, keep track of deliveries, get durians to customers within two to three hours, as well as soothe the ruffled feathers of those asked to reschedule their deliveries, should stocks run out. And if any box fails to meet expectations, customers are urged to reach out to Vlack's service recovery team. "Durians are so expensive. We don't want customers to eat lousy quality durians. Just reach out to us. Don't be afraid, we're very friendly," he assures. The Vlack Durian team takes turns to live stream its durians on TikTok Shop. ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE But refunds occasionally pose a challenge to Mr Seow. "Some customers are a bit harder to deal with, they're obviously there to troll. So they will tell you that it's very bad, but when you ask for photos and videos, they don't want to send. Then how do you justify the refund?" Sellers on TikTok Shop must respond to refund requests within one working day, but can reject a request on grounds of lack of evidence or if the product is "used, damaged or removed from the original packaging". Then there is the emotional exhaustion of having to continually pump out good vibes. While Mr Lim can usually feed off the energy of 50 to 100 viewers, his live stream has its quieter moments too. "The toughest thing is motivating yourself when there are no viewers," he says. "You have to talk with the same kind of energy, but honestly, it's hard because you know you're talking to a wall." But he keeps going anyway, for the sake of his business and to push himself out of his comfort zone. As for his stutter? After hours upon hours of chatting into a phone camera, only a trace of it remains. "If people want to laugh at my stutter, honestly, just let them laugh," he says. "Everyone has his or her own shortcomings. You just have to accept who you are and face it."
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Straits Times
Six-figure sales each durian season: Why durian sellers are now live selling on TikTok
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox SINGAPORE – When Mr Raay Lim started selling durians in May 2020 during the Covid-19 circuit breaker, he expected the long hours and physical toil, but not the non-stop yapping that would come to define his job now. Growing up, communication was never his strong suit. He had a habit of stammering and stuttering, so a career as a live streamer was the furthest thing from his mind. He went into the durian business to facilitate conversations, not lead them. 'I started out because my grandma loved durians a lot. Every durian season, we' d lay out the newspaper, sit and eat together. It's something I'll always remember. So, I hope that by starting my business, I'll be able to replicate these family moments for other people,' says the 32-year-old Singaporean owner of Zen Zu Fu Durians, which operates from a kerbside stall in Tiong Bahru. He set up shop firs t i n Queenstown, the n S in Ming and Bedok, and finall y T iong Bahru. But each successive neighbourhood proved no warmer than the last, with residents reluctant to leave their homes during the pandemic. 'It was very hard to build up a neighbourhood base. You need to give customers a reason to choose you over other more established stalls.' To a young newcomer like him, it was clear that the traditional model of business – a bricks-and-mortar stall, steady base of neighbourhood regulars – no longer cut it. The answer, then, lay online, on the one app that was taking over the world: TikTok. Live selling has helped Mr Lim reach new audiences. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG In June 2023, Mr Lim logged on and started live selling durians for the first time. It turned out to be the right move. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 5 new walking trails allow hikers to explore heritage sites, win FairPrice, Cold Storage vouchers World Trump advises Ukraine's Zelensky to 'make a deal' with Russia after meeting Putin World Takeaways: Warm words contrast with cold reality of no deal at Trump-Putin summit Singapore Nowhere to run: Why Singapore needs to start protecting its coasts now Life Switching careers in middle age and beyond: How these Singapore professionals did it Asia 11,000 properties without power after 4.9-magnitude quake strikes near east coast of Australia Asia Move over, Labubu – Chiikawa is the new craze in Hong Kong Life English, physics, chemistry: These tutors take O-level exams every year About 70 per cent of his revenue now comes from TikTok Shop, where mao shan wang is priced at $50 a 500g box – the same as de-husked durians at his physical stall. He estimates that he racks up six figures in total in TikTok Shop sales during the main durian season in June. The harvests in December and March yield more modest returns. Oth er enterprising thorn sellers started to do the same, lured b y t he platform's sprawling reach and quick commerce. Over the last year, the app has yielded a bumper cro p. T he number of durian sellers on TikTok Shop grew by some 40 per cent, while gross merchandise value surged 185 per cent year-on-year, according to the company. Sellers such as Mr Josiah Jeremy Seow of Golden Moments Durian Cafe in Bugis and Mr Tony Seah of Vlack Durian in Bukit Batok also tried to catch the wave over the last couple of year s. 'The era of business has changed, and we have to adapt and enter the streaming arena,' say s M r Seah, a 41-year-old Singaporean . H e launched Vlack in 2020 and started live selling in June 2024. The results were remarkable. By the following year, revenue had risen by 40 to 50 per cent. A 400g to 450g box of mao shan wang sells for around $60 on Vlack's TikTok Shop, 10 per cent more than at the physical store due to c harges such as platform fees. Because his store is in an industrial estate, online outreach is a necessity. 'We can't attract thousands of customers daily with just our physical store, but on TikTok, we can get thousands to learn about our brand.' Mr Tony Seah's shop, Vlack Durian, is located at an industrial space in Bukit Batok. ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE For seasoned live streamers like Ms Emily Tan, who goes by @EmObsessed online, durians have also proven a risky – as perishable foods tend to be – but lucrative trade. She had heard that durians were one of the easiest things to sell online, with a higher eyeballs-to-sales conversion rate than other fruit. 'At first, I was like, are you serious? Who buys durians on TikTok? I thought you'd want to get a feel or try the durian. But after doing one live stream, I realised the cult of durians is real,' says the 32-year-old Singaporean of her first live stream with Zen Zu Fu in Ap ril. She usually touts family-centric products online such as Zappy wipes. S he sold a five-figure sum from four hours with Zen Zu Fu, slightly more than the mid-four-to-five figures she usually generates from selling other products online. Friends first Online, the prickly product cannot speak for itself. It demands a personable host: charismatic, knowledgeable and ready to talk for hour s. On Mr Lim's live stream s, conversation ranges far beyond durians, running the gamut from routine exchanges – 'How are you' and 'Have you eaten?' – to deeper concerns, like the rising cost of living and how to help friends with mental health issues. The sessions can run for up to six hours. Sometimes, he chops durians concurrently. But multitasking can be exhausting and dangerous, so he takes occasional breaks from physical work to e ngage his viewers. 'I would say it's 20 per cent selling, 80 per cent chatting,' he says, taking care to differentiate himself from sellers who urge customers to just 'buy, buy, buy'. 'To do business, you must first build your community. When people know your sincerity and who you are, they are more likely to buy from you. The way I approach the live streaming is by thinking that maybe we can be friends first.' Mr Lim believes in first building rapport with customers before selling them anything. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG It seems to have worked. Viewers hang around for an average of two hours – for him, not the durians. Singaporean Ng Shu Huai, for example, has been following Zen Zu Fu's TikTok live sales for a year now. The 39-year-old, who works in the supply chain sector, tunes in every day after work and on weekend s . 'Raay's quite funny and the chats are always light-hearted, whic h helps me unwind after a long day,' she says. 'What keeps me coming back is Raay's honesty and sincerity. He never hard sells and remembers viewers' names, preferences and where they live.' On the other hand, she adds, buying in person can be quite intimidating. It is a sentiment Mr Lim says many millennial and Gen Z customers share, which is why he thinks TikTok has helped him reach a new demographic. 'Dur ian sellers can be intimidating in terms of their voices being loud. It's a bit hard to go down to their shop and speak to them because a lot of people can give into this kind of pressure.' On TikTok, however, the customer is king. Order a box if you like what you see. If not, just swipe past. Honesty is the best policy Ms Tan is not one to beg for business. Her style, she maintains, is transparent and honest, not pushy. She adds: 'If a customer says, 'Emily, I can't decide between red prawn and mao shan wang', some sellers will say, 'Buy both.' 'But I'll be like, 'Ask yourself if you want to eat something sweeter o r a bit bigger? And you can just purchase one. If it's good, next time, you can come back.'' Also emphasising candour, Mr Seow describes his style as educational. He starts by delving into the different types of durians an d th eir tastes in an engaging monologu e, sprinkled with facts and examples. For instance, he might explain why the price of durians is going up or break down what a bumper crop means for Singaporean buyers. 'When they know that we know our stuff, that's when we establish trust and rapport,' says the 36-year-old, who founded Golden Moments in 2017. Online, his durians are priced from $22 to $38 for each 400g box. Golden Moments Durian Cafe owner Josiah Jeremy Seow expanded his business to TikTok in 2023. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO The live streaming at Golden Moments runs from 1 to 10pm every day, with shifts divided into two- to three-hour long blocks hosted by in-house staff or a roster of about 20 freelancers it cycles through. Mr Seow is conscious of the difference between online consumers and those who patronise his physical store. Shoppers on TikTok are more price-conscious, as the platform allows them to compare the cost across various stores at once. 'They tend to be more critical about the brand and product because they can see how many boxes have been sold and what a store's rating is like before making a decision to buy,' he notes. In response, he has tightened customer service, ensuring tha t ch ats are replied to and deliveries made on time. The durians are usually delivered within 90 minutes, as promised on its TikTok page, affording quick gratification. Vlack's Mr Seah takes a similarly informative approach. He introduces himself, answers questions, discusses the season's forecast and guides viewers through the types of durians in a manne r that is 'very direct, very clear'. Trust, in his case, is built by keeping the camera trained on a box of golden flesh, with a member of his team de-husking durians in the background. 'We're a premium durian specialist, so we believe in flexing the quality of our durians, instead of attracting people by showing our faces,' he quips. Because TikTok Shop accounts for 70 per cent of Vlack's sales, the team live streams from 3 to 10pm d aily. Mr Seah admits that it can get tiring, even when live-selling duties are shared among his team of six. Does he ever run out of things to say? 'No, I love to eat durians. S o, I 'm doing what I like on a daily basis.' Thorny side of TikTok Not every part of the process is sweet, however. The rush hour, which is usually from 5 to 8pm and brings a surge of around 50 orders, always gives the team a bit of a headache – albeit a happy one. It has to manage expectations, keep track of deliveries, get durians to customers within two to three hours, as well as soothe the ruffled feathers of those asked to reschedule their deliveries, should stocks run out. And if any box fails to meet expectations, customers are urged to reach out to Vlack's service recovery team. 'Durians are so expensive. We don't want customers to eat lousy quality durians. Just reach out to us. Don't be afraid, we're very friendly,' he assures. The Vlack Durian team takes turns to live stream its durians on TikTok Shop. ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE But refunds occasionally pose a challenge to Mr Seow. 'Some customers are a bit harder to deal with, they're obviously there to troll. So they will tell you that it's very bad, but when you ask for photos and videos, they don't want to send. Then how do you justify the refund ?' Sellers on TikTok Shop must respond to re fund requests within one working day, but can reject a request on grounds of lack of evidence or if the product is 'used, damaged or removed from the original packaging'. Then there is the emotional exhaustion of having to continually pump out good vibes. While Mr Lim can usually feed off the energy of 50 to 100 viewers, his live stream has its quieter moments too. 'The toughest thing is motivating yourself when there are no viewers,' he says. 'You have to talk with the same kind of energy, but honestly, it's hard because you know you're talking to a wall.' But he keeps going anyway, for the sake of his business and to push himself out of his comfort zone. As for his stutter? After hours upon hours of chatting into a phone camera, only a trace of it remains. 'If people want to laugh at my stutter, honestly, just let them laugh,' he says. 'Everyone has his or her own shortcomings. You just have to accept who you are and face it.'
Business Times
2 days ago
- Business Times
European shares log second weekly gain, focus on Trump-Putin talks
[Bengaluru] European shares came off multi-month highs on Friday (Aug 15), as declines in heavyweight tech and financial shares offset gains from some corporate earnings, while investors monitored a crucial US-Russia summit. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.1 per cent lower, after hitting a near five-month high earlier in the session. Investor focus was on a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska later in the day that investors hope could pave the way for a resolution of the Ukraine conflict. Trump said he would not negotiate on behalf of Ukraine and would let Kyiv decide whether to engage in territorial swops with Russia. Analysts at Jefferies said that any progress towards de-escalation could benefit consumer, construction, materials and growth-oriented sectors, which have been relatively underinvested in Europe. Aerospace and defence stocks fell 0.8 per cent ahead of the summit. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Steve Sosnick, chief market analyst at Interactive Brokers, said: 'Barring something truly outrageous – positive or negative – markets are not necessarily treating it (US-Russia summit) as important from a market point of view.' Technology stocks fell 0.6 per cent, weighing on the Stoxx 600 index. ASML, the world's biggest supplier of computer chip-making equipment, fell 1 per cent after US peer Applied Materials lowered its fourth-quarter earnings forecast due to weak demand in China and impacts from tariff uncertainty. The Dutch firm had issued a similar warning in mid-July, saying it might not achieve its 2026 growth forecast. Chip stocks BE Semiconductor and ASMI dropped 3.3 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively. On the other hand, miners were the top gainers, adding 0.8 per cent. Antofagasta rose 1.2 per cent after a jump in half-year core earnings on Thursday, helping peers, including Anglo American. Healthcare shares, which have taken a beating this year from uncertainty around Trump's pharma tariffs, were on track for a recovery. The healthcare index logged its seventh consecutive session of gains, its longest streak since late January. Regional bourses were mixed, with Germany's DAX and the UK's FTSE declining, while France's CAC and Spain's IBEX posted gains. The Stoxx 600 also logged a second weekly gain, driven by expectations of a US rate cut in September and strong corporate earnings. Pandora bottomed the Stoxx 600, falling 18.4 per cent, after the Danish jewellery maker flagged weakening sales in its key European markets. This was its steepest one-day fall in seven years. Standard Chartered fell 7.2 per cent after a US Republican lawmaker called for probe against the bank over alleged 'ongoing sanctions evasion'. NKT jumped 8.6 per cent to top the Stoxx 600, logging its best day since May 2022, after the Danish power cable solutions provider raised its outlook for 2025. REUTERS
