Singapore stocks track regional decline on Monday; STI down 1.2%

SINGAPORE stocks closed lower on Monday (Oct 10) mirroring regional declines, after a robust US jobs report last Friday dampened investors’ hope of a policy pivot by the US Federal Reserve.

The key Straits Times Index (STI) fell 1.2 per cent or 38.34 points to close at 3,107.47, with nearly all index counters ending the day in the red.

Thai Beverage led the decliners after its shares fell 3.4 per cent to close at S$0.565. The trio of local banks, DBS, OCBC and UOB were also among the losers, falling between 0.8 per cent and 1.4 per cent.

Sats and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding were the only index counters in positive territory for the day.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was the top STI gainer, after climbing 2.5 per cent to close at S$1.21. Some 80.7 million shares worth S$95.8 million were traded, making it the most actively traded by value on Monday.

Across the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers 360 to 191 after 1.2 billion securities worth S$960.4 million changed hands.

Elsewhere, markets in Japan and South Korea were closed for holidays, while key indices in Hong Kong, Australia and Shanghai fell between 1.4 and 3 per cent.

Said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management: “A robust US labour market and a Fed determined to push unemployment up leaves cross-asset risk sentiment vulnerable without an apparent near-term reprieve.”

He noted that US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data set to be released on Thursday would be taking centre stage for investors.

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“The real question for the market is whether one step down in core CPI will be enough to change the tone around inflation. Given the sharp increase in cross-asset correlations and breakdown in risk assets, it seems like that would be too much to hope for,” he added.