Asia Pacific equities saw profit-taking today, mirroring overnight volatility in US markets. The S&P 500 gave up early gains to close just 0.1% higher at a record 6,305, weighed by renewed tariff uncertainty. With the 1 August deadline approaching, White House Press Secretary Leavitt signalled that President Trump may issue more unilateral tariff actions.
Singapore STI cools after record run
Singapore’s Straits Times Index slipped -0.2%, breaking an 11-session winning streak that pushed it to overbought territory, 3.3% above its 20-day moving average of 4,062.
Nikkei 225 pulls back but holds support
Japan’s Nikkei 225 erased an earlier 1.2% gain to trade down -0.3%. However, it remains supported by its 20-day moving average at 39,690, a key technical level since mid-July.
Hang Seng stays resilient amid choppy session
The Hang Seng Index bucked the regional trend, edging up 0.2% after successfully retesting its previous breakout level at 24,850, now acting as pull-back support.
US dollar stabilizes after sharp decline
The US Dollar Index bounced slightly (+0.1%) in Asia, after falling -0.6% yesterday — its worst daily drop since 12 June. Resistance remains near the 50-day MA at 98.60. EUR/USD is a key pair to watch, with the euro flat but holding recent strength.
Gold hits 5-week high, faces minor pull-back risk
Gold (XAU/USD) broke out above US$3,374 to reach a five-week high of US$3,400. However, overbought intraday momentum signals suggest potential profit-taking ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s speech later today. Gold has since eased -0.3% to US$3,385.
Crude oil slips on demand concerns, trade tensions
WTI crude declined for a third day, down -0.4% to US$66.60 amid concerns over US-China talks, including discussions on Chinese imports of Russian and Iranian oil. Prices are nearing critical support at US$66.10, a key trend level since 25 June.
Economic data releases
Fig 1: Key data for today’s Asia mid-session (Source: MarketPulse)
Chart of the day – Singapore 30 at risk of shaping minor corrective decline
Fig 2: Singapore 30 CFD medium-term & minor trends as of 22 July 2025 (Source: TradingView)
Several technical elements are now indicating that the Singapore 30 CFD Index (a proxy for the MSCI Singapore futures) has reached an overextended up move condition from its intraday low of 396.58 printed on 23 June to Monday, 21 July’s intraday high of 438.14
Firstly, it has formed a 4-hour bearish “Shooting Star” candlestick pattern after a test on the upper boundary of a major ascending channel in place since August 2024 low.
Secondly, the 4-hour RSI momentum has staged a bearish breakdown in yesterday’s US session below its former parallel ascending support from 13 June and inched lower below the 50 level mark at this time of writing (see Fig 2).
These observations suggest that the Singapore 30 is likely to see a minor corrective pull-back/consolidation at this juncture after four weeks of steep bullish impulsive up moves.
Watch the 438.20 short-term pivotal resistance for the next intermediate supports to come in at 422.20 and 417.20/413.50 (also the 20-day moving average).
However, a clearance above 438.20 invalidates the minor corrective pull-back scenario to resume the bullish impulsive up move sequence to expose the next intermediate resistance at 450/452.