United States House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s possible trip to Taiwan stoked geopolitical tensions and stirred regional markets on Tuesday (Aug 2), but Singapore’s was one of those few - though barely - that shrugged off the concerns. Should Pelosi make the trip - a move that mainland China has threatened with repercussions and is expected to carry out military response in Taiwan vicinity - she would be the highest-ranking US official to set foot on the self-ruled island in 25 years. This caused bourses in the region, especially those in North Asia, to feel the heat. Key markets in North Asia dipped by as much as 2.36 per cent. In contrast, Singapore’s Straits Times Index (STI) , the 30-stock benchmark, was 0.4 points or 0.01 per cent higher at 3239.15 points. While it notched gains, the index has had the majority of its stocks in the red, with only 7 finished higher and three closed flat. Decliners beat gainers 297 to 193 in the broader market on a turnover of 1.4 billion with a total value of S$911.6 million.

Wall Street stocks finished Tuesday’s volatile session lower following more hawkish comments from US central bankers and as jittery investors monitored China’s response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note rose sharply following comments from Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester and other central bankers that continued to vow aggressive interest rate hikes to counter inflation. Despite Fed Chair Jerome Powell last week taking a hardline on rising prices, after announcing the second consecutive three-quarter-point increase in the benchmark borrowing rate, weak economic data raised investors’ hopes that policymakers would start to dial back their inflation-fighting campaign. But recent remarks “have been more hawkish than what’s baked into consensus assumptions,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth Management. Meanwhile, markets carefully monitored Pelosi’s movements as she landed uneventfully in Taiwan. But China’s military said it was on “high alert” and would “launch a series of targeted military actions in response” to the US lawmaker’s visit. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.2 per cent to end the day at 32,396.17. The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.7 per cent to close at 4,091.19, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.2 per cent to 12,348.76.