Stocks start 2023 upbeat, but headwinds likely

Decelerating US inflation helps spur gains, though risk of recession remains

- Ven Sreenivasan

Stock markets kicked off the year on a positive note, thanks to lower inflation numbers in the United States. But analysts warn that there could be some turbulence down the road before a more sustainable rally kicks in.

The Dow Jones Index closed at 34,302.61, notching a five-day gain of 2 per cent, while the S&P 500 gained 2.67 per cent for the week to end at 3,999.09 points.

The Nasdaq gained 4.82 per cent to 11,079.16 points after registering its first six-day winning streak since the middle of last year.

This comes after US headline consumer inflation slowed to 6.5 per cent in December, from 7.1 per cent the previous month. With inflation numbers trending down, the market is now pricing in a 25 basis-point rate hike in February, down from previous expectations of a 50 basis-point hike.

In Singapore, the Straits Times Index ended the week up 0.5 per cent to 3,293.75, bringing the year-to-date total return to 1.3 per cent. Also, last Monday, the benchmark Singapore index formed a seven-month high at 3,343.47, before returning to the 3,300 to 3,250 trading range, where it has spent most of the time for the past two months.

Singapore Exchange data shows that the first two weeks have seen almost $70 million of net fund outflows. Among those with the largest net fund outflows are Singtel, UOB, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, City Developments and Comfort DelGro.

OCBC, DBS, Genting Singapore, ThaiBev, CapitaLand Investment and Singapore Airlines are among those that have booked the most net fund inflows since the start of this year.