Singapore shares close higher; STI up 1.2%

[SINGAPORE] Singapore stocks ended higher on Wednesday (Jun 17).

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) gained 1.2 per cent or 59.60 points to end the day at 5,176.46.

Sats led the gainers on Singapore’s blue-chip index, rising 3.2 per cent or S$0.13 to S$4.18.

The worst performer among STI constituents was Hongkong Land , which fell 1.7 per cent or US$0.12 to US$7.11.

The three local banks ended higher. DBS gained 2 per cent or S$1.28 to S$65.01, OCBC rose 1.5 per cent or S$0.36 to S$24.62, and UOB was up 0.9 per cent or S$0.35 at S$39.35.

Over on the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, First Resources was the top gainer, rising 6.3 per cent or S$0.18 to S$3.06.

UltraGreen.ai was the index’s biggest decliner, falling 2.9 per cent or S$0.04 to S$1.33.

Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 349 to 250, after 1.2 billion securities worth S$2.2 billion changed hands.

Key regional indices were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.7 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.7 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.6 per cent.

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The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce its latest decision on interest rates on Wednesday.

It would be the first meeting chaired by newly minted Fed chair Kevin Warsh.

It is widely expected that the rates will remain unchanged, but Nigel Green, CEO of global financial advisory deVere Group, said investors are more interested in how the Fed intends to operate under the new leadership.

Markets are entering a period of heightened uncertainty as investors are trying to determine whether the central bank’s approach to policy is changing.

“Warsh inherits an economy that refuses to fit neatly into a policy framework. Inflation remains stubbornly above target... Headline inflation is running above 4 per cent. At the same time, the labour market remains resilient and economic activity has not weakened enough to justify aggressive easing,” said Green.

“All this creates a difficult balancing act.”

This article has been written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a reporter