Market eases ahead of Fed meeting

THE Straits Times Index on Monday drifted to a 16.56-point loss at 2,871.47 ahead of the US Federal Open Market Committee meeting this week at which an interest rate hike could be announced.

There was no post-General Election rally to speak of despite the ruling People's Action Party scoring a decisive win in the recently-concluded elections; instead, traders said the market was more concerned with a murky external environment than with domestic politics.

A clear indication of the caution shrouding trading was volume traded. At 1.2 billion units worth S$857 million, this was thin even by this year's low standards. Excluding warrants, the advance-decline score was 173-231.