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Informist, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Asia mkts dn; Singapore Straits falls after touching fresh highs

 

MUMBAI--0827 IST--Asian equity indices were down Thursday, with the FTSE Singapore Straits Times Index slightly lower after hitting fresh highs during the session. The country's central bank left policy rates unchanged. Investors in the region will monitor the IDX Composite index after Goldman Sachs lowered Indonesia to underweight. 

 

The central bank of Singapore left its policy rates unchanged and pointed towards upside risks to inflation and demand as the country's economic outlook remains resilient, CNBC reported. The Monetary Authority of Singapore will maintain the existing rate of appreciation for its exchange rate-based policy band, Reuters reported. "The risks to the growth and inflation outlook are tilted to the upside at this point. Persistently stronger-than-expected GDP growth could lead to higher wage growth and boost consumer sentiment, exacerbating demand-pull inflationary pressures," the authority was quoted as saying. 

 

The decision came as preliminary data showed Singapore's economy grew 4.8% in 2025, beating the government's forecast of 4%, while its core inflation was 1.2% on year in December, in line with analysts' estimates in a Reuters poll. The central bank raised its core and headline inflation forecasts to 1-2% for both from 0.5-1.5%.  

Goldman Sachs lowered Indonesia's rating to underweight due to expectations of more passive selling, the investment bank was reported as saying by CNBC Thursday. The bank regarded this as an overhang that would act as an obstacle to the market's performance. The IDX Composite was trading 8% lower during the session.

 

Shares of Samsung were trading 1% lower during the session. This was after the rose 2.6% at open as the company's operating profits surged over threefold and beat analysts' estimates, with memory chip storage and strong demand for artificial intelligence servers lifting earnings for the quarter, CNBC reported. The company's net profit came in at 20.10 trillion Korean won or $14.07 billion. The company's revenue came in at $65.58 billion, rising 24% on year. 

 

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0822 IST:

 

INDEX	LEVEL	CHANGE IN %
CSI 300 Index	4713.70	(-)0.09
Hang Seng Index	27790.36	(-)0.13
KOSPI	5164.94	(-)0.11
Nikkei 225 Day	53274.71	(-)0.16
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3523.65	(-)0.33
FTSE Singapore Straits Times	4905.42	(-)0.08
S&P/ASX 200 Index	8881.90	(-)0.58
IDX Composite	7654.663	(-)8.00

 

(Akshat Saksena)

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Equity Alert: US indices end flat-to-higher Wed; US Fed keeps rates unchanged

 

MUMBAI--0746 IST--US equity indices ended flat-to-higher Wednesday with the S&P 500 surpassing the 7000-point benchmark for the first time before ending in the red. The Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average ended just a touch higher.

 

The US Federal Open Market Committee kept its benchmark rates unchanged at 3.50–3.75% in line with estimates. US Treasury yields moved higher. The country's central bank said economic activity has been expanding at a solid rate, with the unemployment rate showing signs of stabilisation, CNBC reported. "I think, and many of my colleagues think, it's hard to look at the incoming data and say the policy is significantly restrictive at this time," US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was reported as saying.

 

The central bank is expected to keep its rates unchanged until Powell's tenure comes to a close in May, according to Jed Ellerbroek of Argent Capital Management, CNBC reported. "There's a little bit of tension between inflation being a little bit higher than they want and unemployment rising, and so they're in a roughly neutral position, and they're comfortable sitting there until the data changes and forces them to pick a side," the analyst was reported as saying. "The ball moves into President Trump's court now, because he will be nominating the new Fed chair," he added. 

 

Shares of Seagate Technology surged 19% after the company's quarterly earnings and revenue beat analysts' expectations. Chief Executive Officer Dave Mosely cited strong demand for artificial intelligence data storage as the reason behind the strong numbers for the quarter. ASML Holding also reported record orders and gave optimistic guidance for 2026 due to the AI boom, CNBC reported. However, shares of the company ended 2% lower. Shares of Starbucks ended 0.6% lower. The company managed to beat expectations for its revenue at $9.92 billion against estimates of $9.67 billion, but its earnings per share came in at $56 cents against estimates of $59 cents, according to a report by CNBC citing estimates from LSEG. 

 

Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Tesla announced their earnings after the closing bell. Meta's revenue for the quarter came in at $59.89 billion against estimates of $58.59 billion estimated by LSEG, CNBC said. Meta also said it expects its first quarter sales for 2026, to come in the range of $53.50 billion and $56.50 billion, more than $51.41 billion estimated by analysts. Microsoft reported a revenue of $81.27 billion against $80.27 billion estimated by LSEG, CNBC said. Tesla reported a revenue of $24.90 billion against estimates of $24.79 billion by LSEG. "Auto sales have been sluggish in recent quarters for Tesla, as the company faces an onslaught of competition in various parts of the world, most notably from BYD in China," CNBC said. 

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Wednesday:  

 

Index	Level	Change in %
S&P 500	6978.03	(-)0.01
NASDAQ Composite	23857.45	0.17
Dow Jones Industrial Average	49015.60	0.02

 

(Akshat Saksena)

 

US$1 = INR 91.78

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

 

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