Singapore Stocks (SGX) Market News

Sterling finished the overnight session slightly lower after trading in quite a large, volatile range. It slid to a low of 1.5972 during the European session. This occurred as participants continued to add to bearish bets that British interest rates will remain very soft for some time yet, especially following last week’s talk that the Bank of England may be contemplating further quantitative easing programmes. Yesterday’s weaker-than-expected UK consumer confidence reading also did little to boost sentiment towards cable. However, as the US session developed, the US dollar came under pressure, which saw sterling reclaim much of its earlier lost ground to finish the day at 1.6050. In Asian trade, it opened at 1.6050 and has quickly sold off as the greenback has found some strength following the overnight weakness. Tonight, all attention will be on the manufacturing PMI due for release at 6.30pm (Melbourne time). Following a reading of 52 last month, the market is expecting it to fall to 51.6. A materially weaker result would likely see further selling in cable. Ben Potter, Australia