Singapore stocks buck regional declines on Thursday; STI up 0.4%

SINGAPORE stocks ended higher on Thursday (Jun 27), tracking gains on Wall Street but bucking declines elsewhere in Asia.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.4 per cent or 11.65 points to 3,343.35. Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 318 to 226, after 1.5 billion securities worth S$1.7 billion changed hands.

US markets ended higher overnight, ahead of the release of US’ price consumption expenditure data for May on Friday. But Saxo’s Asia-Pacific research team noted that it was a mixed performance.

A few large-cap, heavily weighted index stocks had contributed to the stronger market appearance, but underlying market fundamentals displayed weakness, with 10 out of 11 S&P 500 sectors declining, the Saxo team said.

IG market analyst Yeap Jun Rong noted that the price data, which is the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, will serve as validation for whether market rate expectations are being overly dovish in pricing for two rate cuts by the end of this year.

The STI bucked declines in key regional indices elsewhere. The Hang Seng Index fell 2.1 per cent, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.8 per cent, the Kospi Composite Index lost 0.3 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI ended 0.4 per cent lower.

SEE ALSO

Singapore stocks fall at Thursday’s open; STI down 0.1%

Stocks to watch: Keppel Reit, LMIRT, ValueMax, Serial Achieva

Asean Intelligence

Get insights into businesses across South-east Asia

Get the free report

On the STI, ST Engineering was the biggest gainer, rising 3.3 per cent or S$0.14 to S$4.33.

Meanwhile, Seatrium was the biggest decliner, falling 5.4 per cent or S$0.08 to S$1.39.

The local banking trio ended higher on Thursday. DBS rose 1 per cent or S$0.36 to S$36.05, OCBC was up 0.8 per cent or S$0.11 to S$14.51, while UOB gained 0.3 per cent or S$0.08 to S$31.11.