Singapore stocks rise for third straight day, ahead of Fed decision
Raphael Lim
SINGAPORE stocks rose for the third consecutive day on Wednesday (Nov 1), in line with gains across most of the region, as investors awaited the outcome of the US Federal Reserve’s meeting.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.3 per cent or 9.03 points to close at 3,076.77.
Key indices in Japan, South Korea, Australia, Shanghai and Taiwan also closed higher, rising between 0.1 and 2.4 per cent, following overnight gains on Wall Street.
The positive mood in markets comes ahead of the Fed’s policy announcement later on Wednesday.
Xiao Cui, senior US economist at Pictet Wealth Management, said that the Fed is expected to keep rates unchanged at between 5.25 per cent and 5.5 per cent, and this has been widely priced in by markets.
Recent Fed commentary suggests that the base case is likely that growth will slow in coming months, she added. “But officials remain concerned about a re-acceleration in inflation, and deem it premature to conclude the hiking cycle.”
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On the local bourse, shares of Sembcorp Industries led the STI gainers, climbing 4.4 per cent to S$4.79. The three local banks were also among the gainers for the day. DBS rose 0.5 per cent, OCBC climbed 0.3 per cent, and UOB was up 0.4 per cent.
Seatrium was the top index decliner, having slipped 3.6 per cent to close at S$0.108.
Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 290 to 266, with 1.1 billion securities worth S$677.3 million traded.
CapitaLand Investment was among the top five most actively traded stocks by value. The counter closed unchanged at S$2.94, after 13.2 million shares worth S$39.1 million changed hands.
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