Singapore stocks lose ground for sixth straight session; STI sheds 0.7%

SINGAPORE stocks ended the week in the red on Friday (Aug 18), booking declines for the sixth straight session. 

The benchmark Straits Times Index retreated 22.82 or 0.7 per cent to 3,173.93. Losers outnumbered gainers 372 to 246 in the broader market, as 1.2 billion securities worth S$1.1 billion were traded on the Singapore Exchange.

Regional indices were largely down on Friday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 2 per cent in its final hour of trade, while FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI edged down 0.1 per cent.

South Korea’s Kospi finished 0.6 per cent lower, marking a sixth straight day of losses. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.6 per cent as Japan’s July core inflation fell to 3.1 per cent, down from 3.3 per cent in June.

These falls tracked Wall Street stocks, which declined for a third straight session overnight. 

IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong said market sentiments continued to reel from the “hawkish takeaway” in the Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes.

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He reckoned rates will be kept high for longer, and push the US Treasury yields “to retest their recent highs”. 

“The US two-year yields continue to hover just below the 5 per cent mark, while the 10-year yields briefly touches its October 2022 peak overnight,” he said. 

On the STI, Wilmar International was the only gainer, as it ticked up 0.3 per cent or S$0.01 to S$3.60. The biggest loser was Sembcorp Industries , which contracted 3.6 per cent or S$0.20 to S$5.38. 

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In the broader market, Singapore Post climbed 3.1 per cent or S$0.015 to S$0.50, after reporting 11.8 per cent growth in its Q1 operating profit to S$11.9 million. 

Meanwhile, Singapore’s trio of banks were down once again. DBS sank 0.2 per cent or S$0.05 as it ended at S$32.72; UOB fell 0.6 per cent or S$0.18 to S$27.93; and OCBC lowered 0.3 per cent or S$0.04 to S$12.27.