Market Focus Daily: Thursday, June 12, 2025
Asian shares stumble after Trump's latest trade threat; Dollar falls to seven-week lows on rate cut outlook; Singapore retail vacancy creeping up with more tenants looking to exit.
Synopsis: Market Focus Daily is a closing bell roundup by The Business Times that looks at the day's market movements and news from Singapore and the region.
Written and hosted by: Emily Liu (emilyliu@sph.com.sg)
Produced and edited by: Chai Pei Chieh & Claressa Monteiro
Produced by: BT Podcasts, The Business Times, SPH Media
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International Business Times
18 minutes ago
- International Business Times
Asian Markets Sell Off as Middle East Tensions Spike and Oil Prices Surge
Asian traders woke to a nervous open on Friday after oil surged and Wall Street futures sank following reports that Israel had carried out a military strike against Iran. The unexpected turn sent investors fleeing to the safety of gold and the Swiss franc, and pulling money from stocks. Only last week, the Asian markets had appeared strong. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong and the KOSPI in South Korea both rose by nearly 1%, and Japan's Nikkei inched up as well. That momentum, fueled by diminished trade tensions, came to an unexpected halt. This jarring reversal underscores how quickly market sentiment can shift. Oil prices surged — Brent was up nearly 9 percent, to $75.36 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate rose to $74.20. Meanwhile, gold climbed 1.5%, edging closer to a record high of around $3,434 per ounce. There was strong, broad-based safe-haven buying. Futures for Wall Street fell overnight. S&P E-mini futures fell 1.7 percent, while Nasdaq futures fell 1.8 percent. In Europe, the STOXX 50 futures were down 1.6%, showing signs of a global risk-off mood. Asian stock markets quickly felt the heat. Japan's Nikkei was down 1.3 percent, South Korea's KOSPI fell 1.1 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.8 percent. Traders attributed the increased risk to regional tensions. The geopolitical blow-up further raises the stakes at a time when the mood of the market is already fragile," said Charu Chanana, Chief Investment Strategist at Saxo. "Oil and safe havens will remain bid until we see a de-escalation in tensions." Equities around the world looked shaky. The MSCI All-Country World index had recently set a record high after a steady upward march since early April. But many analysts have thought pullbacks were inevitable and the current crisis could set off a deeper sell-off. The rally "had room to run out of steam," said MooMoo strategist Jessica Amir, and growing Middle East tensions could prove to be the catalyst. Israel has declared a state of emergency after its pre-emptive strike, according to reports. Iran announced the death of Revolutionary Guards Commander Hossein Salami. Israeli officials also said senior military and nuclear officials had been hit. Now tensions are arguably at their worst in recent memory. There are also global politics at play in this war. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed that what Israel had done was "unilateral" and that the U.S. was not officially involved in the move. Iranian and American officials will sit down in Oman this weekend for a sixth round of talks over Iran's uranium enrichment program. In fixed-income markets, U.S. Treasury bonds rose. Investors dumped riskier assets and sent 10-year note yields to a one-month low of 4.31%. Haven currencies also rose: The Swiss franc gained 0.4 percent to 0.8072 per dollar, and the yen strengthened 0.3 percent to 143.12. The WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the U.S. currency against 16 others, rose 0.5% to 98.131 as some other traders also sought the security of the dollar. The euro was 0.4 percent weaker at $1.1538 as it came down from its recent highs. The pound was 0.5 percent lower at $1.3554, pulling back from a high on the day.
Business Times
23 minutes ago
- Business Times
Singapore shares fall on Friday amid Middle East tensions; STI down 0.3%
[SINGAPORE] Local stocks ended lower on Friday (Jun 13), in line with losses in global markets as tensions in the Middle East led investors to cut their risk exposure ahead of the weekend. Iran sent drones towards Israel, to retaliate against the latter's airstrikes on its nuclear and military infrastructure. The moves are stoking fears of a wider regional conflict, leading Asian and European stocks to tumble. US index futures also slipped in pre-market trade. The weekend could bring new developments as the US and Iran are expected to meet in Oman on Sunday to discuss Iran's nuclear programme. 'Oil and defence stocks will likely benefit from rising tensions, but the rest of the market should remain under pressure,' said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank. In Singapore, the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.3 per cent or 10.78 points to end at 3,911.42. Across the broader market, losers beat gainers 359 to 160, with around one billion securities worth S$1.3 billion changing hands. Jardine Matheson was the top blue-chip gainer, rising 1.8 per cent or US$0.80 to US$45.44. Seatrium was the biggest decliner, falling 2.8 per cent or S$0.06 to S$2.06. The trio of local banks ended lower. DBS dropped 0.5 per cent or S$0.22 to S$44.45; OCBC closed 0.5 per cent or S$0.08 lower at S$16.06; and UOB shed 0.4 per cent or S$0.14 to S$34.95. Markets in nearly all Asian markets slid, with China's Shenzhen Component leading the declines, shedding 1.1 per cent. That was followed by Taiwan's Taiex, which fell nearly 1 per cent. South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225, each ended nearly 0.9 per cent lower.
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business Times
OCBC users hit by log-in, payment issues; services restored by 2.30 pm
[SINGAPORE] Customers of OCBC experienced difficulties making payments via the bank's mobile app and Internet banking services on Friday (Jun 13) afternoon, with access restored by 2.30 pm. More than 570 outage reports were lodged on tracking site Downdetector from around 11 am, mostly citing mobile log-in and banking issues. Some customers also reported log-in issues on OCBC's platforms, according to comments posted in an online forum and on the bank's Facebook page. Checks by The Business Times at 1.39 pm found that the app was unable to display account balances, and PayNow transfers could not be completed. The OCBC mobile banking app on iOS was unable to display account balances at 1.39 pm. Services were restored by 2.30 pm on the same day. PHOTO: RENALD YEO, BT This marks the second digital service disruption involving a local bank in two weeks. On Jun 2, DBS and POSB customers encountered difficulties accessing the bank's mobile apps.
