The Afternoon Update with Lynlee Foo

On What’s Trending, Ed Sheeran receives a personalised watch strap from Delugs, a local watch accessory company. And still in line with something British, the British Museum is urged to return a huge moai statue to Easter Island by Chilean activists. And lastly, a local young chess player was able to beat a grandmaster in classical chess.

Investors in Indonesia had much to cheer as stocks saw their biggest increase in two months a day after Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto declared victory in the nation’s presidential election. The Jakarta Composite Index finished 1.3 per cent higher - that’s the most since December 14, and was nearing a record high. So to find out what this election means for domestic and international investors of Indonesia’s market, on Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Tareck Horchani, Head of Dealing, Prime Brokerage, Maybank Securities. Highlights: 1. Could you shed some light on Indonesia's stock market performance leading up to the elections? What notable trends emerged during this period? - 1:02 2. What factors contributed to the notable increase of 1.3% in the Jakarta Composite Index following Prabowo Subianto's victory announcement? - 2:25 3. Why is this growth remarkable to Indonesian stocks? What does it imply? - 3:14 4. What were some sectors/stocks that were the winners following the election? Which were the losers? - 4:55 5. Why are the rate cuts by the Bank of Indonesia significant? - 9:02

Singapore's Budget 2024 was announced in Parliament last Friday by DPM and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong. And from workers to seniors, individuals to households, there was something for everyone to help ease the pressures of the high cost of living. Here are the key highlights from Budget 2024.

Air travel is back to a thing of a norm. The airline industry, which tends to be cyclical, is subject to overall economic activity. And with some expecting airline capacity to finally exceed the pre-pandemic levels this year, what’s the outlook on the airline market? Plus, with many of the Southeast Asian countries’ tourism performance hinging on the return of Chinese travellers, how much impact will Chinese travellers have on the airline industry in the year ahead? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Shukor Yusof, Founder, Endau Analytics, to find out more. 

On The Afternoon Update, Hongbin Jeong is joined by Geoff Howie, Market Strategist at the SGX, for a market wrap of the week. They discuss how the STI fared in the past week, the biggest movers on the STI, and several economic news released this week including the latest GDP numbers and NODX data. They also look ahead to Singapore’s Budget 2024 ahead of DPM Lawrence Wong’s speech later in the day to see whether there’s a stock market wish list for the Budget.

A key theme this year is the prospect of US Fed rate cuts in the year ahead. But with the latest data showing that inflation is still stickier than expected, a May rate cut seems to be off the table. The latest inflation numbers also erased the last remnants of a global bond rally that started in December with the hope that the Federal Reserve had finally pivoted to favour interest-rate cuts. So what’s the outlook on fixed income markets now? How will fixed income markets perform compared to other asset classes? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Kheng Siang Ng, Asia Pacific Head of Fixed Income at State Street Global Advisors, to find out more. 

On What's Trending today, MRT stations got a whole new tune to chime through your journey. The chimes on the trains and at MRT stations that were recently piloted in selected stations will be progressively implemented on all trains and at more than 70 stations on the North-South, East-West and Circle lines. Also on What's Trending, Katy Perry may be bidding farewell to American Idol after the latest season, which kicks off on February 18. Also, are you ready for Taylor Swift? She's coming to Singapore in a few weeks, and The Straits Times has something special in store. 

There may be some strong Valentine’s Day rally in stock markets, as investors may be buying more in anticipation of a positive market sentiment. So how have love-related stocks been faring ahead of Valentine's Day? Was there a boost leading up to the romantic day of the year? And how much would you spend on a first date? On The Afternoon Update's Financial Hit, Hongbin Jeong is joined by Sean Cheong to discuss whether love is up in the air for markets.

Traders are now pushing back on bets that the first US Fed interest rate cut will be from July, instead of May. That’s after data overnight in the US showed inflation was stickier than expected last month. The rally that had been predicated on the belief that the central bank’s imminent pivot to interest-rate cuts slammed into reality, as those bets are being frantically rolled back. So should investors trim their equity exposure? What about Asian markets - are there any opportunities there? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Steve Brice, Chief Investment Officer at Standard Chartered Bank, to find out more. Highlights: 1. Can markets continue this rally or at its peak? Is another market correction coming? - 1:09 2. Is now the time to increase the exposure on equities? Or with short-term volatility ahead, is now the time for investors to trim their equity exposure a little bit? - 1:48 3. Meanwhile, over in Asia, it seems like Asia ex-Japan equity markets saw a revival in investor sentiment last week. What triggered this shift? - 6:01 4. China unveiled several measures to help save its recent stock market rout. Do those measures look promising? - 6:52 5. How are markets faring at the moment, amid thin trading due to a shorter week for most Asian markets as well as China markets closed? - 8:53

For professional fund selectors, uncertainty in financial markets is the main theme for this year when allocating assets. Recession is still a top concern - as global tensions continue to escalate, there’s still a long way to go for economic growth, and interest rates are still here for higher for longer. So can we expect more stock market volatility? How are fund selectors mitigating the risks? Which assets do they see opportunities this year? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Dave Goodsell, Executive Director of Natixis Center for Investor Insight, to find out more about the key findings of Natixis Investment Manager’s latest Fund Selector Outlook Survey.