Markets nervous ahead of Harris-Trump showdown

With race too close to call, fear is a Trump win may spark fresh tariffs on Asian exports

- Ven Sreenivasan

Despite a strong close on Friday on Wall Street, global markets are nervous with investors showing reluctance to take on new risks as the US election countdown begins.

Adding to the uneasiness were reports that Iran is planning retaliatory strikes against Israel in the coming days.

Uninspiring earnings reports did little to boost confidence.

The US October jobs report showed the weakest job creation since December 2020, though many within the market attributed this to the labour dispute at Boeing and devastating hurricanes.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.15 per cent last week to 42,052.19 points, its second consecutive weekly decline.

The broader S&P 500 was also down, giving up 1.37 per cent to 5,728.80 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq retreated 1.5 per cent for the week to 18,239.92 amid concerns over earnings and valuations.

In Singapore, an abbreviated four-day trading week saw the Straits Times Index trading over a wider range than in previous weeks and testing a seven-week low at 3,520 points before closing with a 1.06 per cent loss at 3,555.43 points last Friday.

Weighing the index down were Sembcorp Industries (down 5.5 per cent), Wilmar International (down 5.2 per cent), Thai Beverage (down 4.8 per cent), ST Engineering (down 3.8 per cent) and Singtel (down 3.4 per cent).

On the other hand, gainers included Hongkong Land (up 14 per cent), Jardine Matheson (up 4.9 per cent), and Genting Singapore (up 2.4 per cent).

Coming into this week, the US elections on Nov 5 and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Nov 7 will be the biggest factors shaping sentiment.

As analysts put it, the presidential election jitters are sucking the air out of the room.