Central banks in spotlight but no big surprises seen

IT'S going to be all about the central banks this week with the big picture of global monetary policy decisions from the US, UK, Europe to Asia demanding full attention from the market although it would appear that no one is quite expecting big surprises.

For starters though, the Singapore bourse could be set for a relief rebound after shedding 25 points over the previous week, spurred by last Friday's gains in US stocks on the back of robust hiring data for November and the prospect of tax cuts. The solid payrolls report cemented optimism over the prospects of the US - the world's largest economy - and raised expectations for an interest rate hike from the US Federal Reserve this week.

With the Dow Jones Industrial Average up by almost 25 per cent for 2017, this is one of the biggest stock market rallies of the current cycle, said Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research in a note.