Singapore stock market’s rally fizzles out, closes 0.3% down
Tay Peck Gek
THE Singapore market couldn't decide which way to go on Thursday (Jun 16), as with the key bourses in the Asia-Pacific, which finished divided after the United States central bank raised its policy rate by 0.75 per cent overnight.
The key gauge Straits Times Index (STI) opened 1.1 per cent higher, but the steam fizzled out by mid-afternoon. The barometer closed 8.42 points or 0.27 per cent lower at 3,097.43.
Oanda’s senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley pointed out that US central bank chair’s post-meeting comments were interpreted by the market as a consistent, but less hawkish tone for the rest of the year.
Added the analyst: “That was all the excuse that the ever-present pent-up, buy-the-dip demand needed. In Asia, equity markets have been content to dip their toes back in the water in line with the move higher on Wall Street overnight. That said, much of their early gains have been reversed as US futures fell, with China markets now slightly down, hinting again that the bullish momentum has waned.
Like the markets in the Asia region, STI was a mixed bag: 11 component stocks with gains, 17 in the red and the rest of the 30-strong index flat.
Even the counters that would be clear beneficiaries of rising interest rates, the banking trio, did not take a clear-cut direction, although they all gapped up at the opening bell.
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OCBC shares closed 0.18 per cent up at S$11.48, DBS shares were 0.1 per cent lower at S$29.90, and UOB shares climbed 0.11 per cent to S$26.98.
Singapore Exchange (SGX), the bourse operator, lost 2.47 per cent to S$9.49, and was the worst-performing counter on the index.
Topping the chart of the active counters on Singapore bourse was Sembcorp Marine , which had 174.3 million shares traded; it finished trading 4.35 per cent lower at S$0.110.
SEE ALSO
Gainers trailed decliners in the broader market 202 to 314, on a turnover of 1.74 billion securities with a total value of S$1.37 billion.
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