Market drifts in quiet trading ahead of Fed meeting

THE Straits Times Index on Wednesday fell 4.09 points to 3,253.43, weighed down mainly by falls in DBS and OCBC. Turnover remained below-par, as it has for several days now, with 1.9 billion units worth S$976.2 million traded. Excluding warrants, there were 174 rises versus 264 falls throughout the market.

As was the case with Tuesday's rise in the index, no specific reason could be found for the selling, brokers describing the market as quiet and listless ahead of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting that ended on Wednesday. Losses sustained in the shares of DBS and OCBC contributed four points towards the STI's loss.

Also weighing on the index were falls in Jardine Matheson, Cycle & Carriage and UOL.