Singapore shares rally after US Fed commits to rate cuts

SINGAPORE shares rallied after the US Federal Reserve overnight made clear its commitment to three rate cuts, putting the flattish performance in the past few days behind them.

The blue-chip benchmark Straits Times Index was up by 1.4 per cent or 42.89 points to 3,220.37 as financial markets responded to a soft-landing scenario where the central bank is poised to cut rates even though the US economy is doing quite well.

Across the broader market, gainers outperformed decliners 390 to 202, with 1.6 billion securities worth S$1.5 billion transacted.

The banks closed 1.1 to 2.1 per cent higher. UOB logged the smallest rise and closed up S$0.31 at S$29.22. DBS had the highest increase and rose S$0.72 to end the day at S$35.66. OCBC was up 1.6 per cent or S$0.22 at S$13.64.

Olam Group shares closed at S$1.02, 3 per cent or S$0.03 higher, after its indirect 64.57 per cent-owned subsidiary, Olam Agri, launched a non-binding indicative offer to acquire all shares in Australian cotton gin Namoi Cotton for some A$122 million (S$107.8 million). The consideration of A$0.59 per Namoi share comprises A$0.58 in cash, and a permitted special dividend of A$0.01 per share.

Glove maker Riverstone Holdings rose 5.9 per cent or S$0.045 to close at S$0.81, after brokerage RHB upgraded the stock to “buy” from “neutral” because of its improving sale volume and above-average margin. In spite of a lower top line, the Malaysian company delivered a 60.7 per cent jump in Q4 net profit and proposed a special interim dividend of five sen and a final dividend of 7.5 sen for FY2023.