Asia’s stocks jump early, and investors are asking if it will last
January has barely started, yet markets are already moving with intent. In the latest Market Focus Weekly from The Business Times, host Emily Liu asks a simple question: Asia is up, but should anyone trust a rally that arrives this early in the year?
Herald van der Linde, head of Asia equity strategy at HSBC, says the strength is real, but also fragile. The forces pushing markets higher are familiar, and so are the risks. The trouble is not optimism, but how narrowly it is concentrated, and how quickly sentiment could turn if the story shifts.
From there, the conversation moves across the region, touching on China, India, Hong Kong and Singapore, and why markets can keep climbing even as geopolitics heats up. It is less about forecasts and more about how investors should read the signals forming beneath the surface.
Why listen
- Asia’s early rally What is powering it and what could undo it.
- AI concentration risk Why everyone being in the same trade matters.
- Hong Kong’s IPO wave Signal of depth or a test of liquidity.
- Singapore’s steady run Why the STI is holding up without hype.
It is a measured, insightful discussion about momentum, risk and restraint at the start of a new year. If you want to understand what Asia’s markets are really saying in January, this episode is a good place to start. Listen now.
Subscribe and listen to more episodes of Market Focus Weekly from The Business Times. Feedback and questions can be sent to btpodcasts@sph.com.sg.
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Written and hosted by: Emily Liu (emilyliu@sph.com.sg)
With Herald van der Linde, head of Asia equity strategy, HSBC
Edited by: Chai Pei Chieh & Claressa Monteiro
Produced by: Emily Liu & Chai Pei Chieh
A podcast by BT Podcasts, The Business Times, SPH Media
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