SG Morning Highlights | Del Monte Pacific Reports Deeper Q2 Loss, Expects FY2025 Net Loss

– Moomoo News SG

Advancers / Decliners is 91 / 45, with 130.32M securities worth S$101.56M changing hands.

Economists have significantly raised their growth forecast for Singapore in 2024, while only slightly adjusting their expectations for 2025, according to the latest quarterly survey by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The median GDP growth forecast for 2024 jumped to 3.6% from 2.6%, largely driven by improved manufacturing expectations. However, the 2025 forecast saw only a marginal increase to 2.6%, with economists noting increased downside risks. Inflation expectations for both years were lowered. Among sectors, manufacturing and wholesale and retail trade saw upward revisions for 2024, though finance and insurance still lead in growth expectations. Most respondents anticipate unchanged monetary policy in January 2025. Geopolitical tensions emerged as the top downside risk, cited by all respondents, while better-than-expected external growth remained the most mentioned upside risk, albeit with decreased frequency. This survey reflects a cautiously optimistic outlook for Singapore's economy, with near-term improvements tempered by longer-term uncertainties.

According to Indeed's report, Singapore experienced a significant surge in GenAI-related job postings in September 2024, increasing 4.6 times compared to the same period last year. The data analytics sector emerged as the primary driver of this growth, accounting for 11% of GenAI-related job postings. This sector's dominance is unsurprising, given that careers in data analytics often involve data scientists and engineers who directly develop or incorporate GenAI tools into their work. Interestingly, architecture followed closely, contributing 4.1% of GenAI mentions in job postings. While unexpected, this trend highlights the expanding applications of GenAI in supporting administrative and creative tasks within the architectural field, such as image rendering and specification writing. Other sectors showing notable GenAI job growth include medical information (3.8%), scientific research (3.5%), and software development (2.8%). This diverse range of sectors adopting GenAI technologies underscores the technology's widespread impact and the growing demand for AI-skilled professionals across various industries in Singapore.