Singapore shares fall amid mixed regional showing; STI down 0.3%

[SINGAPORE] Singapore shares closed lower on Wednesday (Jan 28), with the Straits Times Index (STI) failing to sustain its momentum a day earlier amid a mixed showing regionally.

The 30-constituent blue-chip barometer declined 0.3 per cent or 13.68 points to 4,909.34, with just nine counters closing higher.

The trio of local banks ended the day mixed. DBS rose 0.5 per cent or S$0.27 to S$59.54, and UOB gained 0.7 per cent or S$0.27 to S$38.72. OCBC , which closed on a record high on Tuesday, fell 0.6 per cent or S$0.13 to S$21.29.

Jardine Matheson , which also hit a new high on Tuesday, was down 4.8 per cent or US$3.62 to US$72.66, making it the worst STI performer.

Seatrium was the index’s biggest gainer, with a 1.4 per cent or S$0.03 increase to S$2.12.

The iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index – which tracks the performance of the 50 largest companies listed on the mainboard after the STI stocks – rose 0.5 per cent or 7.23 points to 1,505.1.

Across the broader market, gainers beat decliners 318 to 293 after nearly 1.6 billion securities worth S$1.9 billion changed hands.

Pawnbroker ValueMax closed 1.7 per cent or S$0.02 up at S$1.18 – a 52-week high – amid bullish sentiment around bullion.

Gold breached the US$5,200 mark for the first time on Wednesday after rising more than 3 per cent a day earlier, as the US dollar plunged to a near four-year low amid persisting geopolitical concerns.

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Regionally, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3 per cent, while the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dipped 0.8 per cent and the Jakarta Composite Index plunged 7.4 per cent.