Singapore Stocks (SGX) Market News

The Aussie dollar’s reputation as a proxy for global risk sentiment was confirmed again last night, with the AUD experiencing a tumultuous 24 hours. Upon ending the Australian session around the 1.0545 mark, the AUD fell sharply during the overnight session. This came as US markets plunged to nearly 2% losses on another poor weekly jobless claims number, as well as continuing concerns about the Greek debt situation. However, late in the US session news broke that the EU and IMF had endorsed Greece’s five-year austerity plan and markets staged a dramatic turnaround, greatly paring earlier losses. The sharp reversal in sentiment saw the AUD quickly bounce back above the 1.05 mark to close the US session around 1.0520. Upon re-opening for Asian trade, the AUD moved up into the 1.0570 range, before retracing back towards a current level of 1.0530; the ASX 200 slipped back below the 4500 level. Cameron Peacock, Australia