Singapore shares dampened by Fed rate-hike expectations; STI drops 0.3%

SINGAPORE shares were down on Thursday (Apr 20) as investor sentiment was dampened by expectations for further rate hikes from key central banks.

The Straits Times Index was 10.64 points or 0.3 per cent lower at 3,313.41 points.

The US Federal Reserve’s latest report on economic conditions – the Beige Book – published on Wednesday showed that lending volumes and loan demand generally declined across consumer and business loan types. Overall economic activity was little changed in recent weeks.

Some analysts said it should not interfere too much with the market’s 89-per-cent probability pricing of a 25-basis-point rate hike by the Fed on May 3, especially when the central bank’s officials who spoke this week have mostly favoured upward adjustment as inflation remains elevated.

In Singapore, gainers beat losers 304 to 246 in the broader market, on a trading turnover of about two billion securities with a total transaction value of S$1.2 billion.

Nanofilm Technologies’ share price plunged 9.1 per cent to S$1.50 after the mainboard-listed nanotechnology solutions provider with plants in China on Wednesday announced a 40 per cent fall in revenue for the first fiscal quarter. The company said its Q1 is typically cyclical in line with production cycles, while sales were also hit by China’s slow and soft recovery since reopening its borders. Still, it was below analysts’ consensus forecast.

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Venture Corporation’s share price slid by 0.9 per cent to S$17.41. The technology stock was one of those that CGS-CIMB’s Singapore research team expects to be affected by a semiconductor industry slowdown.

Azeus Systems – a company that supplies software for hosting meetings remotely – closed 3.5 per cent higher at S$8.59, a day after The Business Times reported that the Singapore Exchange has amended rules to enable the conduct of general meetings by electronic means.