Singapore stocks open lower on Tuesday; STI down 0.6%

SINGAPORE stocks fell in early trade on Tuesday (Jan 25) following updates from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on the central bank's monetary policy stance.

On Tuesday morning, MAS announced a "pre-emptive adjustment" in its monetary policy stance. The authority said it will "raise slightly" the rate of appreciation of the S$NEER policy band, citing a "further upward shift" in Singapore's inflation outlook.

The Straits Times Index (STI) was down 0.6 per cent or 18.82 points to 3,264.53 as at 9.01 am.

Losers outnumbered gainers 94 to 45 after 44.4 million securities worth S$74.6 million changed hands.

Jiutian Chemical C8R was the most traded by volume on Tuesday morning, with 5.4 million shares changing hands. It rose 2.4 per cent or S$0.002 to S$0.087.

Index counters Singtel Z74 was among the top 3 most traded by volume with 2.4 million shares changing hands. The telco dipped 0.8 per cent or S$0.02 to S$2.47. Genting Singapore G13 saw brisk trading as well, with 1.7 million shares moving as the integrated resorts company dropped 0.7 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.755.

Units of Keppel DC Reit AJBU were also heavily traded. The data centre real estate investment trust was down 0.9 per cent or S$0.02 to S$2.23 in early trade.

The trio of local banks were in the red on Tuesday morning. DBS D05 was down 0.8 per cent or S$0.29 to S$35.37, UOB U11 fell 1.3 per cent or S$0.40 to S$29.61, while OCBC O39 slipped 0.9 per cent or S$0.11 to S$12.19..

In the US, Wall Street returned to the black in a huge comeback on Monday, ahead of a closely-watched US Federal Reserve decision expected to signal imminent interest rate hikes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.3 per cent at 34,364.50. The broad-based S&P 500 also soared 0.3 per cent to close at 4,410.13, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.6 per cent to 13,855.13.

Meanwhile, European shares plummeted over worries about a Russian attack on Ukraine and the possibility of a more hawkish US Federal Reserve this week. The Europe-wide Stoxx 600 index fell 3.8 per cent at Monday's close, marking its worst day since June 2020.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened lower on Tuesday with investors remaining cautious over geopolitical risks and ahead of the US Federal Reserve's decision. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.5 per cent or 140.42 points at 27,447.95 in early trade, while the broader Topix index lost 0.6 per cent or 12.17 points to 1,917.70.