STI rises 0.7% ahead of US Fed's meeting
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) closed 0.7 per cent or 28.81 points higher at 4,216.19.
Across the broader market, gainers beat losers 269 to 217 as 2.1 billion securities worth S$1.66 billion changed hands.
The top gainer on the STI was Jardine Matheson Holdings (JMH) which advanced 4.2 per cent or US$2.41 to US$59.43.
The trio of local banks ended the day higher. DBS was up 0.5 per cent or S$0.26 at S$49.86, UOB remained flattish, rising only S$0.01 to S$34.85, and OCBC rose 0.5 per cent or S$0.08 to end at S$16.76.
The biggest loser on the index was ST Engineering, which lost 1.8 per cent or S$0.15 to finish at S$7.99. This was the second consecutive day the counter emerged as the biggest loser, despite having announced a 19.7 per cent rise in its H1 earnings last week.
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Across Asia, major indices were mostly down. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.8 per cent, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.4 per cent, and the Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.2 per cent
The Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 0.3 per cent.
Vasu Menon, managing director for investment strategy at OCBC bank, said Fed chairman Jerome Powell is under intense pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut rates.
'Nevertheless, with more US economic numbers due before the next September Fed policy meeting, Powell may signal an openness to cut rates next month if the data in the next few weeks support such a move,' he added.
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Straits Times
27 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Kill Bill's Onitsuka Tiger sneakers turn Japan soft power into hard profits
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CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Dollar drifts, Europe stocks open flat as markets brace for Jackson Hole
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"Strong earnings growth, a resilient underlying economy, and calmer tone on trade, should all keep the path of least resistance higher, while any potential Fed easing would probably provide a helping hand as well." Underlying momentum for equities, which have been on a tear of late, remained strong with Australia's benchmark rallying 0.9 per cent to hit a record. Other indexes in Asia lost some ground but haven't strayed too far from recent highs. Japan's Nikkei, which hit an all-time intraday peak on Tuesday, drooped 0.6 per cent. South Korea's KOSPI bounced 0.7 per cent. It dipped to a six-week low on Wednesday, but is not too far off from a four-year high marked on July 31. Nasdaq futures pointed slightly higher, following a 0.7 per cent slide for the Nasdaq Composite overnight. S&P 500 futures were flat after the cash index slipped 0.2 per cent. Fed Chair Powell has said he is reluctant to cut rates because of expected tariff-driven price pressures this summer. Traders ramped up bets for a September cut following a surprisingly weak payrolls report at the start of this month, and were further encouraged after consumer price data showed limited upward pressure from tariffs. However, a hotter-than-expected producer price reading last week complicated the policy picture. Minutes out overnight from the Fed's July gathering, when policymakers voted to keep rates steady, suggested that Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller were alone in pushing for a rate cut. That led traders to pare back odds to 80 per cent for a quarter-point Fed rate cut on September 17, down from 84 per cent 24 hours earlier. They are currently pricing in a total of 53 basis points of easing over the rest of the year. President Donald Trump again exerted pressure on the central bank overnight and that pressure is set to remain a key focus for traders. His push for more control over the Fed unnerved investors earlier in the year, sending the dollar tumbling. After continuing his attacks on Powell earlier in the week for refraining from cutting rates this year, Trump on Wednesday targeted Fed Governor Lisa Cook, demanding she resign amid allegations of wrongdoing connected to mortgages on properties she owns in Georgia and Michigan. Cook said she had "no intention of being bullied to step down". "Trump's push to confirm Stephen Miran could add another vote for cuts in September, and if he was to successfully remove Cook, the Fed Board could end up with four members out of seven supporting his lower rates call," said Rodrigo Catril, a strategist at National Australia Bank. Trump nominated Council of Economic Advisers Chair Miran as a Fed governor earlier this month, following the surprise resignation of Adriana Kugler. The main topic of the Jackson Hole conference will be labour markets, which is a relief to some traders who worried that policymakers would put a spotlight on inflation or the sensitive issue of central bank independence, said Toshinobu Chiba, a fund manager at Simplex Asset Management. "A lot of active managers, including me, believed there was a chance central bankers could show a hawkish stance at this meeting," said Tokyo-based Chiba. "But when I think about this theme, the possibility of that scenario has decreased.""The U.S. labour market has weakened recently, as we have seen in the employment results this month, so like Powell has mentioned, the possibility for a rate cut is open," he added. The currency market has largely taken the latest developments in stride. The dollar index was steady at 98.33 on Thursday, after grinding to its highest since August 12 at 98.441 a day earlier. U.S. two-year Treasury yields, which tend to be sensitive to monetary policy expectations, rose 1.2 basis points to 3.756 per cent on Thursday, while 10-year yields rose 0.8 basis points to 4.304 per cent. Japanese government bond yields edged higher, with the 20-year yield advancing to 2.655 per cent for the first time since late 1999 and the 10-year yield rising to its highest since October 2008 at 1.610 per cent. Investors are wary of increased fiscal spending amid pressure for the Japanese prime minister to step down. The dollar advanced 0.2 per cent to 147.58 yen. The euro and sterling were flat at $1.1641 and $1.3446, respectively. Gold eased 0.3 per cent to around $3,338 per ounce. Oil prices rose as larger-than-expected declines in crude oil and fuel inventories in the U.S. supported expectations for steady demand. Brent crude futures were up 0.9 per cent to $67.47 a barrel, after gaining 1.6 per cent in the previous session. 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Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business Times
India and Russia seek to increase trade to US$100 billion as US ties fray
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