SG Morning Highlights | Singapore retail sales up 10.4% in October, extending growth

Advancers / Decliners is 49 to 73, with 73.94 million securities worth S$75.40 million changing hands.

The banking and commodity sectors led Singapore-listed companies to a stronger set of earnings for the quarter ended September.

Of the 134 Singapore-listed companies that released their quarterly financial results as at Dec 1, 81 companies were in the black and 53 in the red. Total earnings rose 45.6 per cent to S$8.5 billion.

The pace and scale of rate hikes delivered by central banks in November picked up speed again as policymakers around the globe battle decade-high inflation.

Central banks overseeing six of the 10 most heavily-traded currencies delivered 350 basis points (bps) of rate hikes between them last month.

The US Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, the Reserve Bank of Australia, Norway's Norges Bank, Sweden's Riksbank and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand all raised interest rates in November.

Singapore's total retail sales rose 10.4 per cent year on year in October, extending the previous month's 11.3 per cent growth, going by the Department of Statistic's latest figures on Monday (Dec 5).

On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, retail sales were marginally up 0.1 per cent, continuing from the 3.2 per cent growth charted in September.

OCBC chief economist Selena Ling said that this was "quite in line" with her forecast of 10.6 per cent growth on the year and 0.2 per cent growth on the month. UOB senior economist Alvin Liew noted that the latest print marked the seventh straight month of double-digit on-year growth.

Malaysia's new Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he was reviewing the 2023 annual budget presented by his predecessor, while indicating that most of the proposals in there would remain untouched.

"I think a large part of it is acceptable," Anwar, who also doubles as the finance minister, told a press conference in Putrajaya after chairing his first Cabinet meeting on Monday (Dec 5). "Some people assume we will oppose all of it. No, we can keep the good proposals," he said.

The previous administration led by Ismail Sabri Yaakob had in October presented a tighter budget for 2023 with a view to narrowing the government's funding shortfall. Parliament was dissolved before lawmakers could approve that spending plan, placing the onus on Anwar to present a fresh budget in line with his coalition government's aspirations.

Agri-business giant Olam Group announced its reorganisation plan in January 2020 to categorise its products under two operating businesses, with an intention to potentially spin out each unit and list them separately.

It has since secured multiple loans including a US$2.9 billion facility in August for refinancing its existing loans.

Singh was convicted of eight charges on Monday (Dec 5), with nine other similar charges taken into account in sentencing him.

This comes after Trek 2000's founder Henn Tan and fomer executive director Poo Teng Pin were convicted of charges in related conspiracies. Tan was sentenced to 16 months' jail in October, while Poo received nine months.