Traders grapple with US rate outlook

ST Index's early gains were more than wiped out as the HK market pulls back in the face of Dow futures weakness

Published Thu, Sep 22, 2016 · 09:50 PM

THE Straits Times Index (STI) on Thursday underwent a volatile session as traders struggled to come to grips with the US Federal Reserve's latest statement and dot plots, the former suggesting a December interest rate hike, while the latter suggested only two instead of three rate hikes next year.

By the end of trading, the STI was 4.68 points weaker at 2,846.06, with the whole market generating only 1.07 billion units worth S$754.2 million in turnover, the lowest for the week to date in both unit and dollar terms.

Of the dollar value, S$500 million or 66 per cent was done in the 30 STI components. Excluding warrants, there were 199 rises versus 148 falls.

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