Market View: Selloff in Asia amid Middle East conflict; US, China trade chiefs reportedly set to meet mid-March before Trump-Xi summit; Airline ticket prices soar on Asia-Europe routes after Gulf airport closures; Apple launches iPhone 17e and M4 iPad Air; China’s AI listings boom leaves investors flying blind; Olam Group to watch

Singapore shares rose today to buck regional losses as the Middle East conflict remains on top of investors’ minds. The Straits Times Index was up 0.86% at 4,932.73 points at 2.27pm Singapore time, with a value turnover of S$1.81B seen in the broader market. In terms of counters to watch, we have Olam Group, after the agri-business company announced yesterday that its food, feed and fibre operating business, Olam Agri, secured a seven-year US$100 million financing facility, which will initially be guaranteed by the group. Elsewhere, from how a flurry of stock market listings by Chinese artificial intelligence companies opened up a gap in analyst coverage, to how US and Chinese trade negotiators are reportedly slated to meet in mid-March, more corporate and international headlines remained in focus. On Market View, Money Matters’ finance presenter Chua Tian Tian unpacked the developments with Kelvin Wong, Senior Analyst, OANDA. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.