Singapore stocks end lower on Tuesday amid inflation, rate hike jitters

SINGAPORE shares fell marginally on Tuesday (Dec 20) as concerns over higher inflation levels and potential interest rate hikes plagued markets once again, and took a toll on investor sentiments. 

On the local bourse, some 954.9 million shares worth a total of S$926.2 million were traded, with losers beating gainers 318 to 228. The Straits Times Index shed 0.1 per cent or 2.64 points to finish the trading session at 3,253.97.

It was a sea of red in stock markets across the region. The dips were led by the Nikkei 225 index, which slipped 2.5 per cent, followed by the ASX 200, which shed 1.5 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 1.3 per cent, while in South Korea, the Kospi closed 0.8 per cent lower. The KLCI fell 0.7 per cent.

SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes said that bearish sentiments are still prevalent among traders: “Investors are still precariously perched on the cliff edge after recent remarks from the Fed and other hawkish central banks across the globe.”

“The cumulative effects of global monetary policy tightening will significantly impact equity valuations and, more importantly, global growth.”

On the local bourse, Jardine Matheson Holdings : J36 0% was the top gainer by value, rising 1.5 per cent or US$0.74 to US$51.14. 

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Lenders also booked gains on Tuesday. DBS : D05 0%topped the trio, with a 0.3 per cent or S$0.10 gain to S$34.21. UOB : U11 0%added 0.3 per cent or S$0.08 to S$31.04, while OCBC : O39 0%rose 0.7 per cent or S$0.08 to S$12.29. 

For the second day in a row, Nio : NIO 0%was the biggest loser. The stock fell 5.5 per cent or US$0.64 to US$11.00. 

Sembcorp Marine : S51 0% was the most traded counter by volume, with just under 90.8 million shares changing hands. The stock closed flat at S$0.14. 

Other heavily traded counters were Genting Singapore : G13 0%, Golden Agri-Resources : E5H 0% and The Place Holdings : E27 0%.