Market sags into mid-week slowdown
Investors are nervously waiting for possible interest rate hike as a two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting draws to an end
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THE local market appeared to be taking a breather on Wednesday from its recent exertions after two to three hectic weeks, sagging into a dip as investors nervously awaited the end of a two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting. Several real estate investment trusts (Reits) also lost ground, possibly pointing to yet another minor bout of interest rate hike fears.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) retreated 0.2 per cent or 7.94 points to 3,487.15, dampened by a drop in UOB and a few property-related counters including Ascendas Reit (A-Reit).
Though the shift towards higher-priced stocks continued, the unit average fell slightly from S$0.80 on Tuesday to S$0.75 on Wednesday. The blue-chip STI component stocks also continued to make up less than a fifth of overall volume, with 195.62 million shares changing hands. In total, about 1.49 billion shares worth S$1.12 billion changed hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 268 to 184.
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