Posts by Mark Darwin
PBOC questions more banks on bond holdings in push to cool rally
CHINA’S central bank started a fresh round of checks on bond investments at banks as it prepares to cool a record-breaking rally, according to sources familiar with the matter. Local branches of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) have sent inquiries to regional lenders in at least three provinces, including Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Jilin, asking…
Read MoreSingapore shares inch up at Wednesday’s open; STI up 0.1%
SINGAPORE stocks opened slightly stronger on Wednesday (Jul 17), tracking a rally on Wall Street after the Dow and S&P 500 notched fresh records. The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.1 per cent or 3.24 points to 3,491.15 as at 9.01 am. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 76 to 33, after 46.9 million…
Read MoreMiner BHP hits guidance with record iron ore production
BHP Group’s iron ore output climbed 6 per cent in the three months to the end of June, taking the global mining giant to a record 260 million tonnes for its full year, in line with guidance. Over the quarter, the company produced 69.2 million tonnes of the steelmaking ingredient, mostly from its Western Australia…
Read MoreMorgan Stanley traders, bankers top estimates as wealth lags
MORGAN Stanley’s traders joined the party across Wall Street in the second quarter even as the firm’s larger wealth business fell short of expectations. The bank’s trading business posted the biggest increase among its peers in the second quarter. Morgan Stanley, like its rivals Goldman Sachs Group and JPMorgan Chase, beat expectations, solidifying the markets…
Read MoreMicrosoft’s hiring of former Inflection AI staff prompts UK probe
BRITAIN’S competition regulator has started a formal investigation into Microsoft’s hiring of some former staff of Inflection AI and its partnership with the startup, it said on Tuesday (Jul 16). Over the past 18 months, regulators around the world have increasingly focused on potentially anti-competitive behaviour in the AI industry, with Microsoft’s various deals with…
Read MoreUS dollar edges higher on yen after Tokyo’s likely intervention last week
THE US dollar regained some lost ground on the Japanese yen on Tuesday (Jul 16) even as traders remained wary of further intervention by Tokyo to prop up their currency after data showed they likely stepped into markets late last week. The dollar was last up 0.3 per cent on the yen at 158.44. It…
Read MoreBHP to temporarily suspend Western Australia nickel operations
It is reeling from a plunge in metal prices and an oversupply in the global market Australia’s BHP Group will temporarily suspend its Nickel West operations and West Musgrave project from October, the miner said on Thursday (Jul 11), as it reels from a plunge in metal prices and an oversupply in the global market.…
Read MoreBank Negara holds key rate as subsidy cuts pose inflation risks
Malaysia’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate steady on Thursday (Jul 11), in line with market expectations, as it flagged an expected pickup in inflation over the second half of 2024 following changes in diesel subsidies. All 32 economists surveyed by Reuters had expected Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to keep its overnight policy rate…
Read MoreJapan’s Nikkei hits all-time high, tops 42,000 on Wall Street gains
Japan’s Nikkei share average surged to an all-time high on Thursday (Jul 11), crossing 42,000 points for the first time as an overnight rally in US stocks boosted investor sentiment. The Nikkei ended 0.94 per cent higher at 42,224.02, securing a third consecutive record high close this week. The benchmark index had hit a record…
Read MoreAsia: Markets track Wall Street records after Powell hints at rate cut
ASIAN stocks on Thursday tagged along with a Wall Street rally that saw another round of record highs as bets on a September interest rate hike surged following comments by Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell. The advances also saw Hong Kong and Shanghai push higher after struggling in recent weeks over worries about the Chinese…
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