Post by : Meena Ariff

Photo: Reuters

On Wednesday, Singapore’s stock market reached its highest level ever. This happened while other countries in Asia had mixed results in their stock markets. Investors were thinking about what the U.S. Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, said recently.

Jerome Powell said on Tuesday that the central bank in the U.S. would have already cut interest rates if it were not for the tariffs put in place by former President Donald Trump. These tariffs affected trade and the economy, making the bank delay its decision.

In Singapore, stocks went up by 0.45%, reaching a record high of 4,008.85 points on Wednesday afternoon, according to data from LSEG.
However, in Japan, the stock market went down. The Nikkei 225 index fell by 0.56% to close at 39,762.48, and the Topix index fell by 0.21% to end at 2,826.04.

South Korea also saw its stock market go down. The Kospi index dropped by 0.47% to 3,075.06, and the Kosdaq index decreased by 0.19% to 782.17.
Australia’s stock market did better. The S&P/ASX 200 index increased by 0.66%, ending the day at 8,597.7 points.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index went up by 0.73%. In mainland China, the CSI 300 index remained almost the same at 3,943.68.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., stock futures rose slightly during Asian trading hours. Investors seemed less interested in buying technology stocks as the second half of the year began.

On Tuesday night in the U.S., the stock markets closed with mixed results. The S&P 500 index went down a little by 0.11% and ended at 6,198.01 points. The Nasdaq Composite index fell more, by 0.82%, to finish at 20,202.89 points. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average did well, going up by 400.17 points or 0.91%, to end at 44,494.94 points.

Overall, while Singapore saw a record high, other markets in Asia and the U.S. had mixed outcomes as investors reacted to news about interest rates and global trade.