Singapore stocks end week lower amid regional decline, STI down 1%

SINGAPORE stocks ended the week lower on Friday (Jun 23), tracking a decline in regional markets.

The Straits Times Index fell 1 per cent or 30.83 points to 3,191.6. Losers outnumbered gainers 341 to 209, after 1.8 billion shares worth S$1.2 billion changed hands.

IG market analyst Yeap Jun Rong noted that US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell had reiterated his hawkish tone overnight but “Wall Street seems to be taking it in stride this time”, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq overturning their three-day losing streak.

Meanwhile in Singapore, the release of May’s consumer price index was in focus for the day. Headline inflation shrank to 5.1 per cent year on year in May from April’s 5.7 per cent.

Yeap said: “With the Monetary Authority of Singapore leaning towards a pause in its tightening stance since April this year, more evidence of moderating inflation will be needed to provide the conviction that a reinstatement in tighter policies is not needed.”

At the close, most counters in the benchmark index were in the red.

Declines were led by Seatrium, which fell 3.1 per cent or S$0.004 to S$0.125.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was also one of the top decliners, falling 3 per cent or S$0.04 to S$1.28.

The trio of local banks closed lower on Friday. DBS fell 1.2 per cent or S$0.39 to S$31.43; OCBC lost 0.6 per cent or S$0.07 to S$12.32; and UOB ended 0.2 per cent or S$0.06 lower at S$27.99.

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Singapore stocks open slightly lower on Friday; STI down 0.1%

For the week, the STI lost 2.1 per cent. The top decliner was Venture Corporation, which lost 7 per cent over the five-day period to end at S$14.96.

Elsewhere in the region, most key indices were in the red as well. The Nikkei 225 Index lost 1.5 per cent, the Kospi Composite Index fell 0.9 per cent, the Hang Seng Index declined 1.7 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index slid 0.3 per cent.