Singapore stocks buck regional trend to end lower on Monday; STI down 0.6%
Tan Nai Lun
SINGAPORE stocks ended lower on Monday (Jan 29), bucking gains in the region.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.6 per cent or 19.22 points to 3,140.31. Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 279 to 270, after 1.4 billion securities worth S$961.7 million changed hands.
Key indices in the region largely ended higher. The Hang Seng Index gained 0.8 per cent, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.8 per cent, the Kospi Composite Index rose 0.9 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index climbed 0.6 per cent.
Vishnu Varathan, chief economist for Asia (excluding Japan) at Mizuho Bank, noted that investors have several key events to watch in the week ahead, including the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
While the Federal Reserve is expected to keep rates steady, the post-FOMC presser could still be a trigger for potentially emphatic pivot bets, he said.
Sentiments in Asia may also remain wary, due to spill-over risks from China and rising political risks ahead, despite Fed pivot bets priming markets for “risk on”, he added. “Between Fed pivot bets, persistent China (asset market) pressures and emerging political risks, markets must confront obscured outlook rather than obviated risks,” he said.
On the STI, Mapletree Industrial Trust was the biggest loser, falling 3.7 per cent or S$0.09 to S$2.36. Last Thursday, it posted a 0.9 per cent fall in distribution per unit to S$0.0336 for its third quarter ended Dec 31, 2023, on an enlarged unit base.
The biggest gainer was Seatrium , which rose 3.9 per cent or S$0.004 to S$0.108.
The trio of local banks ended the day in the red. DBS fell 0.7 per cent or S$0.21 to S$31.89; OCBC lost 0.8 per cent or S$0.10 to S$12.88; while UOB was down 0.7 per cent or S$0.19 to S$28.31.
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