On top of geopolitical woes, interest rates are stubbornly high. The 10-year US treasury yield (UST10Y) is at 4.93%, the highest level since 2009.
The Straits Times Index closed at 3,076 on October 20, down 142 points week-on-week. Overall, October 20 was a not a good day for the local market. In general, October isn’t a good month for equities as various crashes have taken place in past Octobers, the most notable of which was in 1929.
This year, a conflagration of the Israel-Palestine problem was set ablaze by Hamas on - of all days - October 7, just in time for markets to turn jittery. Middle Eastern conflicts have a habit of unnerving markets because of oil and gas production and pricing. And, now in the era of sustainability, decarbonisation and renewables, the oil and gas sector continues to unsettle markets.
