Singapore shares retreat on US stock slump; STI sheds 0.3%

SINGAPORE shares were in the red on Tuesday (Feb 6), tracking losses in the United States.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.3 per cent or 8.61 points to 3,125.68.

Across the broader market, advancers beat decliners 332 to 255, as 1.3 billion securities worth S$1.1 billion were traded.

The decline in the STI followed a slide in US stocks overnight, as Treasury yields picked up on concerns over the timing of interest rate cuts this year.

This was coupled with the US non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for January rising to 53.4, beating economists’ expectations of 52.

Saxo’s Asia-Pacific strategy team said in a note: “Hawkish macro narrative got a further push with hot US Institute for Supply Management services PMI and Fedspeak.”

Elsewhere in the region, key indices were mixed. South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index slid 0.6 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 0.5 per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 4 per cent, after China’s securities regulator unveiled plans to curb short-selling. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index inched up 0.1 per cent.

Back home, the top STI performer was electronics manufacturer Venture Corporation , which rose 1.8 per cent or S$0.24 to S$13.91.

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CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust rose 1 per cent or S$0.02 to S$1.98, following its results release.

The real estate investment trust on Tuesday posted a distribution per unit of S$0.0545 for H2 FY2023, up 1.7 per cent from S$0.0536 in the year-ago period.

Meanwhile, the biggest loser on the STI was energy and urban development company Sembcorp Industries , which fell 1.9 per cent or S$0.11 to S$5.56.

The three local banks retreated as well. DBS lost 0.6 per cent or S$0.20 to S$31.65, while UOB declined 0.8 per cent or S$0.22 to S$28.17. OCBC edged down 0.2 per cent or S$0.03 to S$12.78.