The Afternoon Update with Lynlee Foo

Last week was the busiest of earnings season, with several stocks dubbed the Magnificent 7 reporting their results. The S&P 500 rose 1.4% for the week, driven primarily by earnings and the Magnificent 7. So how did the Magnificent 7 perform so far in the latest earnings season? Which beat expectations and which didn’t? And given the latest results,  should investors pour in their investments into the Magnificent Seven? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Tareck Horchani, Head of Dealing, Prime Brokerage, Maybank Securities, to find out more. 

On What's Trending, hundreds of 'bunnies' hopped to Orchard Road over the weekend to see their favourite K-POP group NewJeans, as they hit a newly opened, three-storey Nike store. They performed their hit songs LIVE for only 75 lucky winners as they promoted a new collaboration with Nike.  Also on What's Trending, a pigeon has cleared its name and was set free in Mumbai after it was taken into police custody for 8 months following allegations that it was a Chinese spy. 

Japan had faced a stagnant economy with effectively no GDP growth over the past three decades. But in 2023, it made a surprise comeback with its economy expanding slightly higher than 1%. Investors are eyeing Japan as its equity markets also reached new peaks already in the new year. But can we expect this momentum to last? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Prof Jamus Lim, Associate Professor of Economics, ESSEC Business School, Asia-Pacific, to find out more about Japan’s economic outlook and what it means for Asian investors in the long run.

On The Afternoon Update, Hongbin Jeong is joined by Jihye Lee, Research Analyst at the SGX, for a market wrap of the week. As markets begin a new month, they look back at the month of January to look at how Asian markets performed last month, biggest losers and winners on the STI, and some of the sectors that outperformed in the period. They also discuss some of the biggest headlines in the past week that moved markets, including the US Fed interest rate decision, inflation in the Eurozone, MAS’ monetary policy move, as well as several S-REITs earnings reports.

“Not so soon” - That’s what Chair Jerome Powell signalled in his speech, following the latest interest rate decision, to the traders eagerly hoping for an interest rate cut to begin soon. Policymakers once again cemented the end of their aggressive campaign to push up interest rates, and sought to reset expectations for how soon and how fast they’ll cut this year. On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Vishnu Varathan, Head of Economics & Strategy, Asia at Mizuho Bank, to find out more about the latest interest rate decision and when we could expect a rate cut now. 

Today, digital bank Trust Bank has launched Trust+, Singapore's first fully digital elevated banking experience. So what is it and what benefits does it offer? On What's Trending, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Natalia Goh, Chief Operating Officer of Trust to find out more about this new launch and how customers can apply. 

The rally over on Wall Street has been mainly driven by changing rate expectations. Stocks have reached an all-time high, supported by strong gains from large tech companies. Some say markets will continue to be choppy going forward, but they remain optimistic that it will be a continuous uptrend for markets in the coming months. That’s as investors bet that falling inflation would allow the Fed to start cutting rates. So with the interest rate decision expected tonight, what can we expect? When can we finally see rate cuts coming in? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Yap Fook Hien, Senior Investment Strategist, Standard Chartered, to find out how the decision will influence markets going forward. 

South Pole’s latest Net Zero Report has shown that 44% of surveyed companies say external communication on climate targets has become more difficult in just the past year, and 58% are decreasing communications as a result. A sign that green hushing is the new norm? Host Rachel Kelly, takes a closer look at the report in this episode of Eco Money.

Singapore banks’ net capital-bond supply, which includes AT1s and T2 bonds, is expected to be negative this year. And this is possibly due to low refinancing needs and sluggish loan growth potential. So as potential rate cuts are bringing focus back to our local bank’s potential bonds issuance this year, how might the bank’s low funding needs limit their capital bond supply in 2024? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Rena Kwok, Credit Analyst, Asian Financials, Bloomberg Intelligence, to find out more.

Chinese authorities are stepping up efforts to stabilise the recent stock market rout. On top of a potential rescue package to bolstore the stock market that will see a mobilisation of more than 2 trillion yuan, authorities have halted the lending of certain shares for short selling from today. Now while the new steps by Beijing outweighed the drag on sentiment from the liquidation of property giant China Evergrande, does the rally mark an end to the country’s three-year long market meltdown? Or are the latest measures more of a short term remedy? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Shen Hong, Asia Markets Editor at Bloomberg to find out more.  Highlights: 1. How bad has the equities route been and what was behind it? - 1:09 2. What does the latest rescue package entail and how significant is it? - 2:11 3. Would you say the rescue plan is enough? What are some of the more deep-rooted concerns here? - 4:02 4. What does this now mean for investors and how does this help avoid a further sell-off of Chinese equities? - 5:54 5. Do you see this as more of a short-term remedy? - 6:40