Market Commentary

For over three decades, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was the poster child for how long it can take a stock market to recover. After peaking at 38,957 in December 1989, the index entered a prolonged decline that mirrored the country’s economic stagnation, a lost decade that stretched well into a lost generation.

As geopolitical tensions tighten and trade alliances fracture, a new chapter in global economic strategy is taking shape, and it’s being written in Asia.

For more than two decades, China’s property sector stood at the heart of its economic expansion. From skylines rising in record time to a booming middle class investing in homes as their primary store of wealth, real estate was more than an asset class – it was an engine of growth.

In the global race for AI dominance, it’s no longer just venture capitalists and tech giants setting the pace. Across the Asia-Pacific region, sovereign funds and government-led capital programs are taking centre stage – not merely investing in AI, but actively shaping its future.

Across APAC, the hottest trades of 2025 have a common theme: AI, EVs, and semiconductors. From Taiwan’s chip giants to South Korea’s battery leaders and Japan’s robotics innovators, investors are pouring in, driven not just by earnings reports, but by fear of missing out (FOMO).

In decades past, the spectre of Middle East conflict sent shockwaves through global markets. Oil would spike, equities would plunge, and investors would rush to safe havens like gold and Treasuries. But today, as geopolitical flashpoints flare across the region and fears of deeper US military involvement loom, the reaction from global markets has been surprisingly muted.

As Southeast Asia’s financial ecosystem digitalises, a quietly powerful trend is gaining momentum: Islamic FinTech. Combining Sharia-compliant financial principles with cutting-edge mobile technologies, this sector is rapidly scaling in two regional powerhouses – Indonesia and Malaysia. For professional investors, it offers a rare intersection of untapped demographics, ESG alignment, and government-backed innovation.

As global investors seek new growth frontiers, one region continues to command attention: the Asia-Pacific (APAC). APAC has become a critical pillar of the worldwide tech ecosystem, from semiconductors to digital infrastructure. However, this isn’t just about catching up to Silicon Valley. It’s about leapfrogging into the next decade of innovation.

For decades, passive investors followed a simple logic: track the index, accept market cap weights, and let the trend do the work. However, using the U.S. as a case study, that logic has come under pressure since 2023, driven by the extraordinary dominance of the “Magnificent Seven”: Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta Platforms, and Tesla.

In the world of professional investing, where margins are thin and milliseconds matter, any edge – no matter how unconventional – surely warrants a closer look. One such underexplored variable is your circadian rhythm.