US Stocks  JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase reported a drop in second-quarter profits on Thursday (Jul 14), reflecting the impact of a weakening macroeconomic outlook that led it to set aside funds in case of bad loans. The big US bank’s earnings came in at US$8.6 billion for the quarter, down 28 per cent from the year-ago period in results that missed analyst expectations. Chief executive Jamie Dimon said key elements in the US economy remained healthy, but that macroeconomic headwinds including inflation “are very likely to have negative consequences on the global economy sometime down the road”. The bank temporarily suspended share buybacks with Dimon saying that the pause was needed to quickly meet higher capital requirements and “allow us maximum flexibility to best serve

Singapore stocks extended losses into Thursday (July 14) on yet another off-cycle monetary tightening move this year, with the city state having recorded slower-than-expected economic growth. The Straits Times Index (STI) tumbled 1.2 per cent or 38.06 points to 3,090.63 at the closing bell. Losers beat gainers 297 to 180 in the broader market, with 987.7 million securities worth S$935.4 million changing hands. In an unscheduled tightening move, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) upped its full-year inflation forecast for 2022, on the back of expectation that overall inflationary pressures “will remain elevated in the months ahead”. Regional indices delivered a mixed response to the grim US inflation report late Wednesday, in which consumer prices surged to a 40-year high of 9.1 per

Bank of America (BA)Bank of America (BofA) said customer spending continues to show signs of resilience despite surging inflation, with pent-up demand for travel and leisure countering rising petrol prices and other increased costs. Spending on credit and debit cards was up 11 per cent from a year earlier in June, compared with a 13 per cent increase in April and 9 per cent gain in May, the bank said on Thursday (Jul 7). The higher spending comes amid rising prices and fears that the US is poised to slide into recession. Financial giants have been reporting signs of consumer strength even amid soaring inflation, which accelerated to a new 40-year high in May, and rising interest rates. The largest US banks saw spending on credit cards surge in the first 3 months of the year as customers be

US briefPfizer on Thursday (Jul 28) reported a 78 per cent jump in profit and reaffirmed the combined 2022 sales forecast of US$54 billion for its Covid-19 vaccine and pill, as countries rushed to sign contracts to prepare for a surge of cases in the fall season. Shares rose 1.8 per cent in premarket trading as overall net income rose to US$9.91 billion despite a stronger US dollar, thanks to strong demand for the vaccine as well as its antiviral treatment Paxlovid. Demand for the pill, which was used by President Joe Biden during his bout of Covid-19 infection, has picked up recently in the United States and other countries due to fresh outbreaks. The US dollar rebounded across the board on Thursday (Jul 28) as investors digested the implications of the Federal Reserve's (Fed) latest

In line with its focus on sustainability investing in the last few years, state investment company Temasek has launched a separate investment company dedicated to decarbonisation solutions, and committed an initial amount of S$5 billion as its startup capital. Called GenZero, the new investment platform will deploy this capital across 3 investment focus areas: technology-based solutions that seek to help organisations decarbonise, nature-based solutions that aim to protect and restore the Earth’s ecology, and solutions that support the development of a carbon ecosystem. Speaking at its launch on Monday (Jun 6), GenZero’s chief executive officer designate Frederick Teo said that the investment platform will adopt a flexible investment approach and look at viable solutions from early-stage c

ISDN Holdings reported a net profit of S$11.1 million for the first half of the year ending Jun 30, 2022, down 9.1 per cent from the S$12.2 million earnings in the year-ago period. Revenue for H1 was down 12.2 per cent to S$190.7 million, from S$217.2 million a year ago. Cost of sales was down 14.1 per cent from S$159 million to S$136.6 million. The engineering company’s management attributed the decrease in revenue to business disruptions due to stringent Covid-19 lockdowns in China, particularly in April and May this year. However, this was partially offset by “strong financial performance” in the group’s other geographical markets, including Singapore, it said in an interim report filed with the Singapore bourse on Thursday (Sep 29). The group said its order book has stabilised after Ap

US Stocks Global oil prices dropped on Thursday to their lowest levels since before Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine, as traders fretted over the possibility of an economic recession later this year that could torpedo energy demand. Benchmark Brent crude futures settled down US$2.66, or 2.75 per cent, at US$94.12, the lowest close since Feb 18. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled down US$2.34, or 2.12 per cent, at US$88.54, the lowest close since Feb 2. The fall in oil prices could come as a relief to large consumer nations including the United States and countries in Europe, which have been urging producers to ramp up output to offset tight supplies and combat raging inflation. Oil had surged to well over US$120 a barrel earlier in the year. A sudden rebound in d

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 notc

Market Summary  Singapore shares resumed their decline after breaking a five-day slide last Friday, as did most key regional peers on Monday (Oct 3), following Wall Street’s downward trend. The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.7 per cent or 23.15 points to 3,107.09, with 24 of the 30 counters that make up the benchmark down. But the stable of Jardine counters closed with gains. Jardine Matheson Holdings was up 3.9 per cent at US$52.60, Hongkong Land rose 1.6 per cent to US$4.49, and DFI Retail Group ended 0.4 per cent higher at US$2.32, while Jardine Cycle & Carriage climbed 1.6 per cent to S $34.32. Wilmar International topped the loser chart of STI stocks and hit a 52-week low at S$3.71, as the agribusiness company slid 3.4 per cent or S$0.13. PropNex International shares were d

Selective US Stocks Analysis  The US dollar rose on Thursday (Nov 17) as investors digested mixed US economic data, while the British pound fell as the UK government unveiled its latest budget update. The greenback has tumbled in recent weeks as inflation data and comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) officials have suggested that the central bank can soon slow the pace of its punishing interest rate hikes. Yet the US dollar climbed on Thursday after US retail sales data for October, released on Wednesday, came in stronger than expected. The euro was down 0.63 per cent against the US dollar at US$1.033 at 1340 GMT, after hitting its highest level since July at US$1.048 on Tuesday. The US dollar index, which measures the currency against six major peers, rose 0.66 per cent to 106.98. Th

US equity futures rallied Friday on positive earnings from Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. and expectations of shallower Federal Reserve monetary tightening, a prospect that also drove a surge in bonds.Nasdaq 100 contracts added more than 1% after the US stock market hit a seven-week high Thursday. Amazon jumped over 10% in extended trading, while Apple also advanced, after their revenues beat estimates.Futures suggest brighter sentiment will lift bourses in Japan and Australia. But Hong Kong may have a muted start after a call between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping underlined bilateral tension even as the leaders told aides to plan an in-person meeting.A Treasuries rally drove the 10-year yield to the lowest since April. Bonds jumped on data showing a technical US

Market Summary  Local stocks continued their losing streak on Friday (Oct 14), even as most Asian markets rallied, following robust overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell for the seventh straight day, dipping 0.03 per cent or 0.84 points to 3,039.61, hitting a fresh 19-month low. For the week, the market barometer was down 3.4 per cent or 106.20 points. Economic data on Friday showed that Singapore’s economy beat expectations and grew 4.4 per cent year on year in the third quarter – higher than expectations for 3.5 per cent growth in a Bloomberg poll. Meanwhile, the Monetary Authority of Singapore also tightened monetary policy to fight inflation, but it was less aggressive than the “double-barrelled” move expected by some economists. While Singap

SG Stocks    Flag carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) said that it is currently in confidential discussions with Tata Group to explore a potential transaction relating to securities of Vistara and Air India, a subsidiary of Tata. “The discussions seek to deepen the existing partnership between SIA and Tata, and may include a potential integration of Vistara and Air India,” the company said in a bourse filing on Thursday (Oct 13). SIA currently holds a 49 per cent equity interest in Tata SIA Airlines which operates Vistara, an Indian full-service airline based in New Delhi. Tata holds the remaining 51 per cent stake. SIA said that discussions are ongoing and no definitive terms have been agreed upon yet. It added that even if a transaction were to materialise, it would be subject to

SIASingapore Airlines has kicked off its financial year to March 2023 on a strong note, according to the group’s responses to questions from its shareholders ahead of its annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled for Tuesday (Jul 26). The airline group said it carried 5.1 million passengers during Q1 FY2023 – up 158.3 per cent quarter on quarter and more than 14 times as high as the same period of the prior year. The group’s passenger load factor came in at 79 per cent for the 3-month period – up 34.1 percentage points quarter on quarter and 64.2 percentage points higher year on year. FintechFintech platform iFAST Corp on Saturday (Jul 23) reported a net loss of S$2.69 million for Q2 2022, reversing from a net profit of S$7.02 million a year ago. It was weighed down by a one-time impairm

US Market The US dollar touched a 3-week high on Thursday (Aug 18) after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) July meeting pointed to US interest rates staying higher for longer to bring down inflation. The stronger greenback caused the pound briefly to dip below US$1.2 in early European trading, its lowest in 3 weeks, the euro to drop to as low as US$1.0146 and the Japanese yen to drift down to 135.45 per US dollar. This pushed the US dollar index as high as 106.96, its highest since late July. Fed officials saw “little evidence” late last month that US inflationary pressures were easing, minutes released on Wednesday showed. They flagged an eventual slowdown in the pace of hikes, but not a switch to cuts in 2023 that traders until recently had priced in to interest-rate futures.

US JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase reported a drop in second-quarter profits on Thursday (Jul 14), reflecting the impact of a weakening macroeconomic outlook that led it to set aside funds in case of bad loans. The big US bank’s earnings came in at US$8.6 billion for the quarter, down 28 per cent from the year-ago period in results that missed analyst expectations. Chief executive Jamie Dimon said key elements in the US economy remained healthy, but that macroeconomic headwinds including inflation “are very likely to have negative consequences on the global economy sometime down the road”. The bank temporarily suspended share buybacks with Dimon saying that the pause was needed to quickly meet higher capital requirements and “allow us maximum flexibility to best serve our customers, clients

US Stocks Applications for US unemployment insurance fell for a third week to a 2-month low, suggesting healthy demand for labour even as economic growth moderates. Initial unemployment claims decreased by 5,000 to 232,000 in the week ended Aug 27, Labour Department data on Thursday (Sep 1) showed. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 248,000 new applications. Continuing claims for state benefits rose to 1.44 million in the week ended Aug 20 from 1.41 million. The level of first-time claims, in addition to a still-low number of Americans already on unemployment benefit rolls, underscores tightness in the broader labour market. A separate report on Tuesday showed that job openings surged in July, near the highest level on record. “These timely data show th

Market Summary Singapore shares finished lower on Friday (Oct 7) with the Straits Times Index (STI) falling 5.75 points or 0.2 per cent to 3,145.81. The STI capped a lacklustre week with a gain of just 0.5 per cent as a result of a two-day rally. With the US non-farm payroll data out on Friday night (Singapore time), investors have been staying on the sidelines as the keenly watched economic numbers could have an impact on the Federal Reserve’s hawkish rate hike stance. ComfortDelGro shares closed 0.8 per cent lower at S$1.28, making the counter barely higher than its 52-week low of S$1.27. Mainboard-listed Sembcorp Marine, after its 389.1 million shares changed hands on Friday, became the most traded stock and has been hogging the position every day this week. The counter rose 1.7 per cen

SG Stocks The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has unveiled a road map of growth strategies for the financial sector, with projections for over 3,000 net jobs being created per year and for the sector to grow faster than the broader economy. The new Financial Services Industry Transformation Map (ITM) 2025, launched by Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Lawrence Wong on Thursday (Sep 15), sets out plans for Singapore to deepen capabilities and grow in areas such as sustainable and transition financing, private credit, philanthropy and the digital asset ecosystem. MAS is also looking to foster a “skilled and adaptable workforce”, and announced that S$400 million has been committed to fund grants in a Talent and Leaders in Finance programme. Singapore’s central bank estimates that the fin

SG Stocks Analysis    OCBC’s 3Q2022 results beat expectations with net profit of S$1.61bn vs consensus estimate of S$1.48bn. Bulk of the beat was from stronger than expected net interest income of S$2.10bn (+44% YoY) and net interest margin growth to 2.06% (+54bps YoY). More details to follow after 10.30am analyst call. With business momentum strong in the third quarter of 2022, DBS will likely remain resilient and post a “solid year” in 2023, said DBS chief executive Piyush Gupta. Gupta noted, however, that the tail-risk scenario of high rates and high inflation will likely play out next year, with inflation remaining sticky and the US Federal Reserve continuing its rate hikes. DBS reported a 32 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit for the third quarter ended September, buo