Singapore shares end largely flat on Wednesday

SINGAPORE shares ended the trading session on Wednesday (Dec 28) largely flat, amid mixed trading on Wall Street.

On the local bourse, gainers outnumbered losers 274 to 215, as 826.7 million securities worth S$521.1 million changed hands. The Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.02 per cent or 0.59 point to 3,266.97.

Wall Street stocks mostly fell on Tuesday, in anticipation of more central bank interest rate hikes. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.4 per cent, and the broad-based S&P 500 lost 0.4 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a slight gain, adding 0.1 per cent.

Regional stocks saw mixed trading. The Hang Seng gained 1.6 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 0.4 per cent. Meanwhile, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.4 per cent and the Kospi fell 2.2 per cent.

Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said: “While a full China reopening could provide a much-needed and timely boost to the global economy, it may come with unwelcome, ambiguous strings attached.”

He noted that inflation may subside, as China reprises its role as a supplier of low-cost goods globally, easing supply chain bottlenecks. But as growth accelerates in the first quarter of 2023, China’s demand for raw materials and energy may push up prices of commodities, in turn spurring inflation.

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“Investors still seem sceptical of the sustainability of the recent moderation in inflation,” Innes noted. He added that investors are also “staying focused on the US Federal Reserve’s reaction function, and whether that policy response spirals the US economy into a downturn”.

The STI’s top gainer on Wednesday was DFI Retail Group : D01 0%, which rose 3.8 per cent or US$0.11 to close at US$3.02.

The top decliner on the index was Jardine Cycle & Carriage : C07 0%, which fell 1.2 per cent or S$0.33 to close at S$28.39.

The trio of local banks saw mixed trading on Wednesday. DBS : D05 0% fell 0.3 per cent to S$34.20. Meanwhile, UOB : U11 0% was up 0.1 per cent at S$30.96, while OCBC : O39 0% gained 0.2 per cent to close at S$12.35.