The Afternoon Update with Lynlee Foo

The US Federal Reserve announced it would hold its policy rate steady today at the conclusion of its two-day meeting on Wednesday. It marked first time the US Fed has not raised rates since March 2022, when it launched the first of ten consecutive increases. The target range for the federal funds rate thus stays at 5–5.25%. How are markets reaction to this decision and can we expect further hikes in the future? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Wong Kok Hoong, Head of Equity Sales Trading, Maybank Securities, to find out more.  Highlights 1:12 - Was the US Fed's decision to pause rates widely anticipated?  1:41 -  How much did recent US CPI inflation numbers play into this decision? 4:17 -  How are Asian markets reacting to the US Fed's rate pause? 6:56 - When can we expect the US Fed to hike rates again? 9:36 - How are Treasury yields faring in the aftermath of this decision?

Gold is in the midst of a pivotal week as traders and investors await the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision late on Wednesday.  How is the continued repricing of rate hike probabilities for the US Federal Reserve weighing on the recovery of Gold prices? And what factors could determine the direction of gold prices going forward? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Priyanka Sachdeva, Market Analyst, PhillipNova, to find out more. 

Oil prices rose initially in the immediate aftermath of Saudi Arabia's unilateral decision to reduce output by a million barrels per day from July. However, prices have since declined after analysts highlighted rising global supplies and concerns about demand growth just ahead of key inflation data and a US Federal Reserve meeting that concludes on Wednesday. So what is the price outlook for global benchmarks moving forward? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to KangWu, Head of Global Demand and Asia Analytics CEO for S&P Global Commodity Insights, to find out more. 

Roughly US$25 billion worth of IPOs was priced globally in March and April, nearly twice the amount seen in the first two months of the year when listings virtually ground to a halt. Why has the IPO market been so deflated this year and what’s behind the recent resurgence? And why is Southeast Asia fast emerging as a hotspot for new offerings as global deals - overall - decline? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Alex Tan, CEO, ZICO Capital, to find out more. 

​​Investors are in a feeding frenzy over artificial intelligence software players.  In recent weeks, stocks exposed to AI technology have rallied hard, giving rise to fears that these stocks could have moved into a bubble. What’s driving this new hype towards AI stocks? And can it last? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Hal Hodson, Special Projects Writer, The Economist, to find out more.

Singapore Airlines’ share price soared 1.6 per cent to a three-year high of S$7 earlier this week – a figure last seen in March 2020, when the pandemic started to hit the national carrier’s passenger traffic. Can we expect this optimism for SIA to continue? Singapore’s retail sales also rose 3.6 per cent year on year in April. What do these numbers tell us? And will the US Fed’s next policy decision have an impact on MAS’ policy move? On Market Wrap, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Emilia Tan, Research Analyst, SGX, to find out more. 

Turmoil in the global banking industry, and the consequence of aggressive monetary tightening, have led many to question whether we're on the verge of yet another financial crisis.  And it’s added to volatility in the credit default swaps market as well.  So how were the credit default swaps of our Singapore banks affected? And what’s the outlook for the CDS for the second half of the year? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Rena Kwok, Credit Analyst, Asian Financials, Bloomberg Intelligence to find out more. 

Asia’s wealth management revenue is expected to reach $90 billion by 2025. That’s as private banking in Asia is expected to display significant growth in the coming years as the number of ultra-high net worth individuals in the region increases. This is according to the latest report by WWF-Singapore. The nature group states that It is therefore more relevant than ever to stress the importance of sustainable practices in private banking and wealth management. To dive deeper into how banks in Singapore are currently position, WWF conducted a pilot study of seven private banks. Rachel Kelly speaks to Akshat Garg, Assistant Vice President, Asia Sustainable Finance, at WWF Singapore to get the details.

The US market has been trending sideways since mid-April, but sentiment in APAC markets seems to be improving on the back of better than expected Q1 earnings reports.  The persistent worry of a US default had translated into a continued preference for risk-averse assets. Will this preference change? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Olivier d’Assier, Head of Applied Research, APAC, Qontigo, to find out more. 

With US ceiling talks now done and dusted, the focus is now squarely back on the US Federal Reserve and inflation.  What is the current state of inflation in the US? And what will the US Fed's next policy move be - can we expect more tightening? And if there is a rate hike, what would it mean for the economy?  On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Gary Dugan, CIO at Dalma Capital, to find out more.  Highlights:  00:51 - What's the current state of inflation like in the US?  01:09 - When do you see inflation cooling?  03:11 - Will the US Fed hike rates once again?  05:47 - What would another rate hike mean for markets? 7:07 - When will the Fed start cutting rates?