Singapore shares track regional declines on Friday; STI down 0.7%
Across the broader market, gainers outnumber losers 270 to 246, with 1.1 billion securities worth S$1.1 billion changing hands
SINGAPORE stocks ended lower on Friday (Dec 6), mirroring declines in the broader Asian region with the exception of Chinese stocks.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) was down 26.52 points, or 0.7 per cent, at 3,796.16, retreating from levels near a record high the day before.
Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 270 to 246, with 1.1 billion securities worth S$1.1 billion changing hands.
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was the top gainer on the STI, rising 1.9 per cent or S$0.05 to S$2.69.
Singtel was the biggest decliner, falling 2.9 per cent or S$0.09 to S$3.03.
The three local banks ended mixed on Friday. DBS fell 1.3 per cent or S$0.58 to S$43.68, UOB lost 0.7 per cent or S$0.27 to close at S$36.88, while OCBC gained 0.2 per cent or S$0.03 to finish at S$16.40.
Chinese stocks gained after Wall Street banks projected that China’s central bank will deliver its biggest interest-rate cuts in a decade.
At the close, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 1.6 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite was 1.1 per cent higher.
Other key indices in the region ended lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.8 per cent, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index fell 0.2 per cent, and Australia’s ASX 200 was down 0.6 per cent.
South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.6 per cent amid ongoing tensions in the country.
Asian equities tracked a decline in US shares ahead of jobs data that may help shape the direction of the Federal Reserve’s policy path later this month. Equities in Japan and Australia fell, taking cues from the downbeat mood on Wall Street.
Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Delivered to your inbox. Free.
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
