Singapore stocks fall after Fed holds rates; STI down 0.7%

[SINGAPORE] Singapore stocks ended lower on Thursday (Jul 30) after the US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady in a widely expected decision.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) lost 0.7 per cent or 39.61 points to finish at 5,673.58.

DFI Retail Group led the gainers on Singapore’s blue-chip index, rising 4.5 per cent or US$0.16 to US$3.74.

The worst performer among STI constituents was Keppel , which fell 4.3 per cent or S$0.52 to S$11.48.

The three local banks ended lower. DBS lost 0.2 per cent or S$0.15 to S$74.85, OCBC fell 2.3 per cent or S$0.68 to S$29.10, and UOB was down 0.02 per cent or S$0.01 at S$43.88.

Within the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, Sheng Siong Group was the top gainer, rising 2.5 per cent or S$0.08 to S$3.34.

Frencken Group was the index’s biggest decliner, falling 4.1 per cent or S$0.10 to S$2.34.

Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 328 to 272, after 1.2 billion securities worth S$2.3 billion changed hands.

Key regional indices were mixed.

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Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.2 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.7 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI advanced 0.3 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi, meanwhile, was down 1.2 per cent.

Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said: “Asian equities found their footing after three difficult sessions, with the recent chip-led sell-off showing the first signs of losing momentum.”

He noted that Samsung Electronics climbed more than 4 per cent after reporting a “dramatic recovery” in chip profits. This, he added, helped to restore some confidence in “a market that had become the clearest regional expression” of the artificial intelligence unwind.

This article has been written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a reporter