Category Archive

Lim Hui Jie

KEY POINTS

• Japan’s industrial production grew 2.8% month on month in May, beating expectations of 2% from economists polled by Reuters.
• Headline inflation for Japan’s capital city of Tokyo accelerated to 2.3% year on year in June, up from 2.2% in May.
• The yen hit fresh 38 year lows against the greenback, weakening to as low as 161.27 against the dollar.

Read More

Lim Hui Jie & Sheila Chiang@IN/SHEILACHIANG@SHEILACHIANG

KEY POINTS

• The Japanese yen weakened to a near 38-year low late Wednesday, dropping to 160.82 against the U.S. dollar, according to FactSet data.
• Japan’s year-on-year retail sales growth for May came in at 3%, higher than the market forecast of 2%, according to a Reuters poll of economists.
• China’s industrial profits grew 3.4% year on year from January to May.

Read More

Lim Hui Jie & Sheila Chiang@IN/SHEILACHIANG@SHEILACHIANG

KEY POINTS

• Australia’s headline inflation rate for May is 4%, compared to the 3.6% recorded in April.
• Semiconductor-related stocks such as Advantest jumped more than 6%, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, SK Hynix and MediaTek increased 1.38%, 4% and 3.25% respectively.

Read More

Lim Hui Jie

KEY POINTS

• Investors will be watching Australia’s inflation data on Wednesday, after the country’s central bank said it discussed raising interest rates at its last meeting.
• Should inflation come in higher than expected and spur the RBA to raise rates, it would be the first major Asia-Pacific central bank to do so in an environment where investors are waiting for rate cuts, barring Japan.

Read More

Charmaine Jacob@IN/CHARMAINEMARIAJACOB@CHARMAINEMJACOB & Lim Hui Jie

KEY POINTS

• Japan’s headline inflation rate rose to 2.8%, higher than April’s figure of 2.5%. The core inflation rate — which strips out prices of fresh food — came in lower than expected at 2.5%.
• The S&P 500 pulled back after surpassing the 5,500 mark on Thursday.

Read More

Charmaine Jacob@IN/CHARMAINEMARIAJACOB@CHARMAINEMJACOB & Lim Hui Jie

KEY POINTS

• China kept its one- and five-year loan prime rates unchanged at 3.45% and 3.95% respectively.
• New Zealand’s economy exited a technical recession, growing 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of the year, beating Reuters poll expectations of a 0.1% expansion.

Read More

Lim Hui Jie & Charmaine Jacob@IN/CHARMAINEMARIAJACOB@CHARMAINEMJACOB

KEY POINTS

• Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose, with the Taiwan Weighted Index crossing the 23,000 mark to hit an all-time high.
• Traders in Asia assessed Japan’s trade data for May, which showed exports grew 13.5% year on year, while imports grew 9.5% during the same period.

Read More

Lim Hui Jie

KEY POINTS

• The RBA held its benchmark interest rate at 4.35% for its fifth straight meeting, saying that inflation “remains above target and is proving persistent.”
• The S&P 500 closed at a fresh record of 5,473.23, adding 0.77%.

Read More

Lim Hui Jie

KEY POINTS

• The Bank of Japan kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Friday, but indicated it’s considering the reduction of its purchase of Japanese government bonds.
• Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 rose to post a fourth consecutive record close as traders weighed more data showing inflation pressures may be easing.

Read More

Lim Hui Jie

KEY POINTS

• The Fed only projects one rate cut this year, down from three, but raises the number of total projected rate cuts to four in 2025.
• Asia markets tracked gains on Wall Street following the Fed decision, with all major markets in the green.

Read More