{"id":73536,"date":"2025-08-05T16:38:24","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T08:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/?p=73536"},"modified":"2025-08-05T16:38:25","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T08:38:25","slug":"weekly-securities-newsletter-tariff-threats-remain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/weekly-securities-newsletter-tariff-threats-remain\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Securities Newsletter: Tariff Threats Remain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Tariff Threats Remain<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chart of the Week:
Fed Holds Rates; Hawkish Powell Flags Sticky Inflation, Dampens Sep Cut Hopes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Fed held rates steady at 4.25%\u20134.5% for a fifth consecutive meeting. At the press conference, Chair Powell emphasized a still-strong labor market and warned that tariff-driven goods inflation may just be starting, signaling potentially more persistent inflation. He made no mention of a possible September rate cut, with his tone notably more hawkish than the meeting statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Market Recap 1:
Rally Fades Midweek; MFN Pricing Pressures Healthcare Sector<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

U.S. equities hit new highs early last week, buoyed by a U.S.\u2013EU trade deal that halved tariffs from 30% to 15%, granted exemptions for some tech products, and included a \u20ac600 billion investment pledge from Europe. However, gains faded midweek after Fed Chair Powell\u2019s press conference offered no signal of a September rate cut, denting market sentiment. The S&P and Dow ended the week lower, while the Nasdaq posted modest gains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Market Recap 2:
Hawkish Powell Lifts USD; Refined Copper Exempt from Tariffs, Prices Plunge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fed Chair Powell avoided mention of a possible September rate cut during his press conference, a stance the market interpreted as hawkish. Rate-cut expectations were sharply reduced, pushing 2-year yields higher and pressuring bond prices. The U.S. Dollar Index continued climbing, nearing the 100 level\u2014a two-month high\u2014dragging down non-dollar currencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What\u2019s Trending:
World AI Conference Ends on Positive Note for China Tech<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) wrapped up in Shanghai, where major Chinese tech firms unveiled a range of AI technologies and products. The event reported over RMB 16 billion in intended procurement deals. Concurrently, Shanghai rolled out new support measures\u2014including full first-year subsidies for small firms renting computing power\u2014to boost the AI ecosystem across infrastructure, model applications, and training data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In Focus 1:
U.S. Yet to Reach Deals with Key Partners; Avg Effective Tariff Rises to 18%<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Last week, the U.S. continued signing trade agreements with more regions, imposing 15% and 25% tariffs on South Korea and India, respectively. President Trump signed an executive order enforcing the new tariffs starting August 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In Focus 2:
Fading Tailwinds May Add Volatility; Equity Strategies Focus on Downside Protection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Economic and equity market performance held up well in 1H25, supported by front-loaded imports and tariff deferrals. However, that honeymoon phase may be ending. Elevated U.S. tariffs risk disrupting supply chains and dampening real consumption through rising prices. The Fed maintained a neutral stance in its July meeting, despite signs of a potential slowdown. With U.S. equities near record highs, fading tailwinds could increase volatility ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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China Sunsine Chemical Holdings is a leading specialty rubber chemicals producer selling accelerators, anti-oxidant, vulcanizing agent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":73537,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-global-markets-weekly-updates"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Tariff-Threats-Remain-e1754383082148.jpg?wsr",391,355,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Tariff-Threats-Remain-e1754383082148-150x150.jpg?wsr",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Tariff-Threats-Remain-e1754383082148-300x272.jpg?wsr",300,272,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Tariff-Threats-Remain-e1754383082148.jpg?wsr",391,355,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Tariff-Threats-Remain-e1754383082148.jpg?wsr",391,355,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Tariff-Threats-Remain-e1754383082148.jpg?wsr",391,355,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Tariff-Threats-Remain-e1754383082148.jpg?wsr",391,355,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Jiong Han Lee","author_link":"https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/author\/jionghan-leekgi-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"China Sunsine Chemical Holdings is a leading specialty rubber chemicals producer selling accelerators, anti-oxidant, vulcanizing agent","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73536"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73536\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73538,"href":"https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73536\/revisions\/73538"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kgieworld.sg\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}