Latest news with #YapFookHien
Barnama
17-07-2025
- Business
- Barnama
US Dollar Seen Weakening Over Next 12 Months, Ringgit, Asian Equities To Benefit
BUSINESS By Anas Abu Hassan KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 (Bernama) -- A weakening US dollar is expected to continue benefiting the ringgit and Asian equities going forward, albeit with a volatile outlook in the second half of 2025 (2H 2025), according to Standard Chartered Bank. Its senior investment strategist, Yap Fook Hien, noted that the bank is not expecting the greenback to bounce back in the near term as most of the weakening has already been factored in. "Our view is that the US dollar will be weaker at least for the next 12 months because of the cyclical factors, and we expect it to be lower as our target is that the US Dollar Index (DXY) would slip to 96 points. "But it is also important to note that we are not looking at a collapse of the US dollar. Our forecast is for 12 months, so beyond that we are going to see how the economy develops and grows, but for the moment we do not see a bounce back," he said in a press conference on the 2H 2025 global market outlook. According to Yap, the bank has identified key themes for investors to consider in the remaining half of the year against the backdrop of dollar weakening, including an overweight on global equities with a tilt towards Asian markets excluding Japan. "The weak US dollar will be positive for equities, and essentially, when the dollar is weak, the Asian ex-Japan equity markets tend to do well. Our two preferred markets are China and South Korea equities," he said. Standard Chartered Malaysia's head of managed investment and advisory, Ng Shin Seong, said he believes the ringgit will continue to trade range-bound between 4.20 and 4.30 against the US dollar as much of the greenback's weakening has already been priced in. He reckons that the interest rate differential between the United States and Malaysia will also narrow down, given the recent pre-emptive rate cut by Bank Negara Malaysia on its overnight policy rate (OPR) as well as the expectation of US interest rate cuts in the coming months. Standard Chartered Malaysia's head of wealth and retail banking, Harmander Mahal, said in a statement that despite ongoing global trade shifts and geopolitical tensions, global equities have remained robust, rising eight to 10 per cent quarter-to-date. "This reflects sustained investor confidence and a reacceleration in risk appetite, particularly across Asia, where emerging markets benefited from stronger capital inflows and currency tailwinds.
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CNA
21-04-2025
- Business
- CNA
Money Talks - Trump's tariffs sent European stocks tumbling. Is it time to invest?
Money Talks The European stock market was outperforming the American markets in the first quarter of 2025. Then came US President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' and markets across Europe plunged. Should investors still look to Europe in the mid- and long-term? Yap Fook Hien, senior investment strategist, wealth solutions for Standard Chartered Bank breaks it down.
CNA
21-04-2025
- Business
- CNA
Money Talks Podcast: Trump's tariffs sent European stocks tumbling. Is it time to invest?
Podcasts European stocks took a hit from Trump's tariffs but the financial, telecommunication and technology sectors still offer promise for investors, says our guest. The European stock market was outperforming the American markets in the first quarter of 2025. Then came US President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' and markets across Europe plunged. Should investors still look to Europe in the mid- and long-term? Yap Fook Hien, senior investment strategist, wealth solutions for Standard Chartered Bank breaks it down. Broker look at video screens at the stock market in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) Here is an excerpt from the conversation: Andrea Heng, host: What other sectors can investors look at within the EU (European Union)? Yap Fook Hien, Standard Chartered Bank: So within Europe our view for the overweight sectors are financials and industrials … We do like technology as well. And the other one is communication services. For technology, a large part of European technology actually is semiconductors. More than half of it. And they do have leadership there in some areas. Now the tariffs do cause uncertainty. We do see the big companies there flagging that but the AI development and the tailwind around that, we believe, we are still in the very early days, and that's actually creating a good structural demand for semiconductor equipment companies. With a majority or more than half of Europe being exposed to that, we think that is attractive. Although it is choppy, of course, because of the tariffs and a lot of export restrictions from the US. But the structural trend is something that we like. Andrea: I need to throw a curveball here because we cannot discount the fact that Mr Trump is going to throw another big curveball, right? What happens if President Trump pulls another big move? What would your advice to investors be then? Fook Hien: Yeah, it's very hard to predict what he will do. What we keep telling our investors is to be diversified. Having that diversification in your portfolio (is beneficial). We're talking about stocks, bonds and also having a bit of gold as well within the portfolio. Find more episodes of Money Talks here. A new episode of Money Talks drops every Tuesday. Follow the podcast on Apple, Spotify or melisten for the latest updates. Have a great topic for us? Drop the team an email at cnapodcasts [at]
