The Afternoon Update with Lynlee Foo

There has been a decline in global inflation from 8.7% in 2022. How can investors prepare for falling inflation? Should they still remain cautious? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Audrey Ho, Investment Counsellor at Citibank Singapore, to find out more.

The US dollar has fallen in recent days, and it is on track for its worst monthly drop in a year, driven down by forecasts that the Federal Reserve will stop raising interest rates and begin slashing them in the first part of next year. How much further will the US dollar decline? And will there be any other currency to look out for this year? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Lim Jun Kit, Strategist at Phillip Nova, discussing the on-going forex market movement.

Since the end of October, the US stock market has experienced a substantial increase. The S&P 500 has increased by nearly 10%, while the Nasdaq has increased by 13%. However, some analysts believe that the recent increase in US equities and bonds is more likely to be a year-end comeback than a decisive turning point. Should investors remain cautious? Are there alternatives investors should consider other than investing in US stocks? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Gary Dugan, CIO of Dalma Capital, shed light on these market dynamics.

In 2023, S&P 500 rose approximately 19% as investors are increasingly betting that the Federal Reserve will soon stop raising interest rates. What can we expect from this rally? And is the market rally welcomed? What kind of hurdles should we expect from those who are wary of it? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Wong Kok Hoong, Head of Equity Sales Trading at Maybank Securities, about his insights. Highlights: The S&P 500 jumped 1% for its fourth straight weekly advance last week - with only three down sessions in 19 trading days. Is Wall Street now predicting more gains to come? - 2:22 Can the S&P 500 even jump to a record high next year? - 3:30 Powering this rally is the belief that the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates and will start cutting them in 2024.  But is the idea that rate cuts may be coming not a sustainable reason for elated market sentiment? - 6:18 How can the current rally be sustainable? - 7:40 If the Fed is cutting rates because of a recession, will this be unsupportive for stock gains? - 8:28

On The Afternoon Update, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Geoff Howie, Market Strategist from the SGX, for a market wrap of the view. We get insights on how the STI fared in the past week; the biggest movers; and some economic news that moved markets this week, including Singapore's headline inflation numbers and the Meeting Minutes from the US Fed. 

High loan repricing, global geopolitical tensions, and continuous high interest rates are all weighing on confidence. And as ASEAN banks face a cloudier economic outlook, more headwinds may be in store in the coming year.  On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Rena Kwok, Credit Analyst, Asian Financials, Bloomberg Intelligence to find out the 2024 outlook for ASEAN banks.

What seemed to be a normal week for markets changed to an extraordinary one last week after markets got the biggest across-the-board CPI miss in a year. And that gave traders the greenlight to declare that the US Fed’s fight against inflation was finally over. Market watchers moved to ratchet up the likelihood of a cut, with the prospect of a cut by March soaring.  So are we now done with rate hikes?  On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Laurent Lequeu, Head of Portfolio Management & Research at Lumen Capital Investors, to find out whether we can expect multiple rate cuts next year. 

The question that keeps coming up: Will there be a year-end Santa Claus rally? There is growing concern among market experts over the index's sustainability, despite its remarkable 9.6% gain in just three weeks. On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Rajat Bhattacharya, Senior Investment Strategist, Standard Chartered, about the possible risks and whether or not investors should think about profiting from this incredible rally. Highlights: 01:07 - Will Wall Street indexes hit a fourth straight winning week? 02:43 - Why do market watchers believe the current rally in the S&P 500 as unsustainable? 03:43 - How should investors approach an unsustainable rally? 06:45 - Can more dovish surprises push more growth in equities? 07:42 - Will government bonds increase further?

Every year - over 430 million tonnes of plastic is produced globally. According to the UN - two-thirds of that are short-lived products that soon become waste. In fact, abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear is the deadliest form of marine plastic, threatening 66 per cent of marine animals. Earlier this year, Gopaal  Jeyaram Founder of Big Fins & Underwater Zombie - came face to face with ghost nets 60 meters underwater in Bali. Rachel Kelly speaks to Gopaal in this week's Eco Money to find out more.

Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, Nvidia, and Tesla had an astounding contribution of approximately US$4 trillion in market capitalization in 2023, outshining the whole MSCI index. But while tech stocks have played a huge role in pushing up Wall Street indexes most of this year, global stocks have seen a weak performance in recent months. Should we then still remain optimistic on global stocks as we approach the new year? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Zane Aw, Research Analyst at Phillip Securities Research, shares his insights and analysis on this.