Singapore stocks end in the red amid geopolitical uncertainties; STI down 0.4%
The wary mood sent the Straits Times Index down 0.4 per cent or 18.32 points to 4,239.83.
SINGAPORE – The local share rally went slightly off the rails on Aug 8 as investors took stock of geopolitical uncertainties and looked ahead to corporate results.
The wary mood sent the Straits Times Index (STI) down 0.4 per cent or 18.32 points to 4,239.83 with losers trumping gainers 344 to 190 on trade of 1.3 billion securities worth $2 billion.
Earnings reports took centre stage over broader themes such as tarrifs and interest rates, said Singapore Exchange market strategist Geoff Howie.
'Earnings momentum is expected to build in Singapore next week,' he added, while also noting that Aug 12 will be pivotal, with markets closely watching for US inflation data and the expiry of the 90-day pause on US-China tariffs.
DBS was the STI's top gainer, adding 2 per cent to a record $50.74, after reporting a rise in second-quarter earnings on Aug 7. Sembcorp led the losers, diving 13.9 per cent to $6.72 after a dip in first-half earnings.
The other local banks slipped: OCBC fell 1.7 per cent to $16.79; and UOB closed 0.3 per cent lower at $35.70
Regional markets were mixed after a similar session on Wall Street overnight. The gainers included Japan's Nikkei 225, up 1.9 per cent, while Malaysian shares advanced 0.5 per cent. But South Korea's Kospi declined 0.6 per cent and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropped 0.9 per cent.
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Despite the uneven finish, Asian markets turned in a bullish performance this week, said Mr Kai Wang, Asia equity market strategist at Morningstar.
He noted that most of this week's top contributors were tech or Internet stocks, suggesting that markets remain driven by AI trends. This may be reflected in the US market as well given some of the robust earnings growth US tech giants.
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Straits Times
40 minutes ago
- Straits Times
After almost losing Trump, Putin gets his ideal summit
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Few analysts believe the Russian leader will be content to stop the war based on a real estate negotiation alone. – In late July 2025, President Vladimir Putin of Russia was facing a stark reality: He was on the verge of losing President Donald Trump, the one Western leader possibly willing to help him get his way in Ukraine and achieve his long-held goal of rupturing the European security order. After months of trying to get Mr Putin to end the war, MrTrump had grown tired of ineffectual phone calls and talks and had begun issuing ultimatums. Even worse for Mr Putin, Mr Trump appeared to have patched up his relationship with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, despite an Oval Office blow-up earlier in 2025 , that delighted Moscow. It was not clear that Mr Trump would be able or willing to follow through on the threats he had made to put punishing tariffs on nations buying Russian oil , or what real impact such moves would have on Moscow. But Mr Trump's deadline for Mr Putin to end the war was swiftly approaching, presaging some sort of further rift between the White House and the Kremlin. So Mr Putin shifted tack ever so slightly. Despite previous refusals by Russian officials to negotiate over territory in the Russia-Ukraine war, the Russian leader, during a meeting at the Kremlin last week, left Mr Trump's special envoy, Mr Steve Witkoff, with the impression that Russia was now willing to engage in some deal-making on the question of land. 'We're going to get some back and we're going to get some switched,' Mr Trump said on Aug 8. 'There'll be some swopping of territories to the betterment of both.' By speaking a language Mr Trump understands – the language of real estate – Mr Putin secured something he had been seeking ever since January: A one-on-one meeting with the US leader, without Mr Zelensky present, to make his case and cut a deal. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Four men arrested in Bukit Timah believed to be linked to housebreaking syndicates Singapore Criminal trial of Hyflux founder Olivia Lum and five others starts Aug 11 Singapore Profile of Kpod user has shifted from hardcore drug users to young people: Experts Tech Former data analyst creates AI tutor that assesses students based on Singapore schools' criteria Opinion I used to be impatient. Then I became a granddad Life Pixar film-maker, We Bare Bears creator Daniel Chong on the lessons his S'porean parents taught him Opinion Recognising our imperfections is part of what makes Singapore whole Business The risks of using 'decoupling' to own two properties 'It has been a very good week for Putin,' said Dr Sam Greene, a professor of Russian politics at Kings College London. 'He has taken himself out of a position of significant vulnerability. He has manoeuvred this entire process into something that is more or less exactly what he needed it to be.' At the same time, tensions between Washington and Kyiv have reappeared. Mr Zelensky said on Aug 9 that the Ukrainian Constitution does not allow his government to negotiate away the country's land. Mr Trump initially told European officials that the meeting with Mr Putin would be followed by a three-way summit with both Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky. But the Kremlin quickly said no such promise had been made. The White House proceeded anyway. Few analysts believe the Russian leader will be content to stop the war based on a real estate negotiation alone. Mr Putin has made it clear that, among other things, he wants a formal promise that Ukraine will not enter Nato or any other Western military alliances, host Western troops on its territory or be allowed to build up a military that threatens Russia – making Ukraine perpetually vulnerable. 'The fundamental thing for Russia is domination,' Dr Greene said. Mr Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin, said Mr Putin would come into the summit on Aug 15 in Alaska pursuing various scenarios. They include a favourable deal with Mr Trump that the US President successfully forces upon Ukraine or a favourable deal with Mr Trump that Mr Zelensky refuses, causing the United States to walk away from Ukraine, Mr Gabuev said. The third option, he noted, is that the Russian leader continues his current path for another 12 to 18 months, with the expectation that Ukraine will run out of soldiers faster than the Russian war economy runs out of steam. Mr Putin understands that Mr Trump is willing to offer things few other American leaders would ever consider, which could help Russia fracture Ukraine and divide the Western alliance. 'If you could get Trump to recognise Russia's claim to the lion's share of the territory that it has taken, understanding that the Ukrainians and the Europeans might not come along for the ride on that, you drive a long-term wedge between the US and Europe,' Dr Greene said. But despite wanting those things, Mr Putin will not stop the war for them, if getting them means agreeing to a sovereign Ukraine with a strong military, aligned with the West, that is able to make its own arms, Mr Gabuev said. 'Trump is a big opportunity for him,' Mr Gabuev said. 'I think that he understands that. But at the same time, he is not ready to pay the price of Ukraine slipping away forever.' Mr Stefan Meister, a Russia analyst at the German Council on Foreign Relations, said the two leaders would come into the summit with different goals – Mr Trump's being to end the war and Mr Putin's being a strategic repositioning of Russia. 'For Putin, it's really about bigger goals,' Mr Meister added. 'It is about his legacy. It is about where Russia will stand after this war. It is much more fundamental. This creates a different willingness to pay costs.' And despite negotiations about his country's land, Mr Zelensky will not be in the room. 'For Ukraine, it is a disaster,' Mr Meister said. THE NEW YORK TIMES
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business Times
Diversifying away from US equities and bonds, with Europe being a credible alternative.
[GENEVA] The post World War 2 global architecture worked on the basis that the US provided the world with economic stability, security guarantees in Europe and Asia, as well as safe assets like treasury bonds and higher returns through US equities. And in return, the US enjoyed capital flows from other countries investing their surpluses in it. But this set-up is faltering, said Alexandre Tavazzi, head of the chief investment officer's office and macro research at Pictet Wealth Management. Against the above backdrop, he sees a mega-trend of capital repatriation from the US. He noted that 'the world has a lot of capital tied up in the US', amounting to about 90 per cent of the US' gross domestic product (GDP). 'You don't want to be nasty with the people who have financed you, but this is what is taking place in US,' he said. A major trend that investors can play on is Europe's revival, which is led by Germany's awakening, said Tavazzi. He pointed to huge increases in spending by Germany on infrastructure and defence, as well as reform of the debt brake at the state level. For one, Germany's net borrowing at the federal level is expected to jump from 1.2 per cent of GDP in 2024 to 3.3 per cent of GDP in 2025, before rising to 3.9 per cent of GDP in 2026 and 2027. 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 Tavazzi is positive on European fixed income, where the 10-year minus 2-year yield spread for German bunds is higher than that for US' treasuries. He also sees European equities, which are less expensive than those of their US peers', playing catch up on the back of improving European growth prospects. Tavazzi is eyeing an improving GDP growth outlook for the euro area from the more supportive policy mix, including the German fiscal bazooka and rising defence spending. Meanwhile, in the US, a gradual artificial intelligence (AI) boost only partially offsets drags from debt overhang, more frequent supply shocks and higher interest rates. As the US becomes less exceptional, weakness in the US dollar is posing a big challenge to non-US dollar denominated investors, for whom it was great previously to be in US assets without being hedged, said Tavazzi. He added that the US' imposing of higher trade tariffs on trading partners is hurting the greenback. In China, Tavazzi sees an economy with a strong manufacturing segment but a weak consumer. 'The difficulty in China is to have a clear view about the earnings of the companies in the market, because in the end, when you buy a market, you buy the earnings. And so far, we have not seen a lot of changes in terms of expectations of earnings going higher,' he said. He noted that the housing crisis in China is deflationary and this needs to be resolved before consumer sentiment there can improve. 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In his view, the focus of the asset-management business is not size but about being the finest. The business focus is on delivering multi-year performance, and not that over a single year, he added. With managing partners at Pictet Group serving for around 20 years each, Sagayam pointed out that clients benefit from a sense of stability from having the same managing partner for many years. Sagayam also sees scope for investors to recalibrate to more active asset management as the embracing of passive investment strategies with the ensuing fee compression makes sense only if there is geopolitical stability. He shared that Pictet Asset Management's assets under management (AUM) in Asia has grown by about 40 per cent over the past five years. 'In the next five years, we want to make sure that much of our focus is on servicing private clients and institutions in Asia, who are looking for innovative global and European exposure, including in topics such as thematic investments,' he said. Sagayam likes where Pictet Asset Management's business sits today. 'We don't tend to over-hire or over-fire. That's why right now, when many asset managers are radically slashing people and costs, we find ourselves in a fortunate position that we don't have to do that,' he said. Quant investing An area where AI is making a big impact in the asset management business is quantitative investments. Today, quantitative analysis of all companies in a universe can use hundreds of features and capture the relationships between the features. With the help of AI, quantitative investment today can capture shorter time horizon market inefficiencies, said David Wright, co-head of Pictet Asset Management's quantitative equities and solutions (Quest) team. He said quantitative investments have had a good run over the past few years and that AI is raising investors' comfort level with this kind of investment. 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Business Times
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- Business Times
Ex-OpenAI, DeepMind staffers set for US$1 billion value in Andreessen-led round
[NEW YORK] Venture firm Andreessen Horowitz has agreed to lead a US$200 million investment in Periodic Labs, a new startup building artificial intelligence (AI) for material science, according to people familiar with the matter. The agreement values Periodic Labs at US$1 billion before the investment, an impressive price for a months-old company, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. OpenAI had previously agreed to lead the investment, but Periodic Labs decided that Andreessen Horowitz could offer more resources, one of the people said. OpenAI is still expected to participate in the financing and potentially team up with the company, the person said. The round hasn't closed, and terms of the deal could change. Andreessen Horowitz didn't respond to a request for comment. Spokespeople for Periodic Labs and OpenAI declined to comment. Periodic Labs was founded by Liam Fedus, OpenAI's former vice-president of research and a key member of the team that launched ChatGPT, and Ekin Dogus Cubuk, a former research scientist at Google's DeepMind AI division. The idea is to use AI to study materials and potentially discover new ones. The Information earlier reported some details of Periodic Labs' fundraising plans. 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 Little has been shared about the new venture. In a March tweet announcing his departure from OpenAI, Fedus said he was excited about AI for science. He called it 'one of the most strategically important areas' for OpenAI and said the company planned to 'invest in and partner' with Periodic Labs. Fedus is part of a growing group of former OpenAI staffers launching their own ventures, a cadre that's drawn comparisons to the 'PayPal mafia', a group of prolific entrepreneurs including Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. Anthropic, the OpenAI rival, was started by ex-OpenAI executives Dario and Daniela Amodei. Thinking Machines Lab, recently valued at US$10 billion, was founded by former OpenAI executive Mira Murati. Investors are jostling for stakes in startups launched by alumni of OpenAI and other AI pioneers and are willing to pay lofty prices for what they see as rare talent. At the same time, larger companies are trying to retain employees with massive compensation packages worth hundreds of millions. Several other OpenAI employees – including Rhythm Garg, Linden Li and Yash Patil – recently exited the company to launch a startup called Applied Compute. The startup quickly raised funding from Benchmark, Bloomberg reported. Benchmark's investment valued Applied Compute at US$100 million, Upstarts Media reported. That's still remarkably high for such an early-stage deal, though it pales in comparison with the valuation that Periodic Labs commanded – thanks to Fedus' central role in creating ChatGPT. BLOOMBERG
