Singapore stocks fall amid mixed regional trading; STI down 0.3%
Tan Nai Lun
SINGAPORE shares ended lower on Thursday (Feb 1), as markets in the region put in a mixed performance.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) was down 0.3 per cent or 9.95 points to 3,143.06. Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 267 to 258, after 1.4 billion securities worth S$1 billion changed hands.
Elsewhere in the region, the Hang Seng Index gained 0.5 per cent, the Kospi Composite Index rose 1.8 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was up 0.02 per cent. Meanwhile, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.8 per cent.
Risk-off sentiment gripped markets after disappointing technology earnings in the US, renewed concerns over the US regional banking sector and Fed chair Jerome Powell pushing back on expectations of a March rate cut, said the Saxo Markets Asia-Pacific strategy team.
The Fed kept rates unchanged in the latest meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, and its statement tilted hawkish with a line that said it will not ease until it has more confidence on inflation pulling back, the team noted.
“This pushed equities lower, bonds higher, and resulted in mild gains in the US dollar with Japanese yen outperforming,” they said.
On the STI, the biggest gainer was DFI Retail Group , which rose 3 per cent or US$0.06 to US$2.06.
Meanwhile, the biggest decliner was UOL , which lost 4 per cent or S$0.25 to S$6.01.
The trio of local banks all ended lower on Thursday. DBS fell 0.2 per cent or S$0.05 to S$31.83, OCBC lost 0.4 per cent or S$0.05 to S$12.84, while UOB was down 0.1 per cent or S$0.03 to S$28.34.
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