Singapore stocks rise on rate cut expectations; STI up 0.1% 

SINGAPORE stocks rose on Tuesday (Dec 19) amid expectations that financial conditions could loosen in 2024.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.1 per cent or 3.39 points to 3,116.62.

Across the broader market, gainers beat losers 275 to 251, after 1.1 billion securities worth S$882.7 million changed hands.

Regional markets were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.4 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index edged up 0.1 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index shed 0.8 per cent.

Mizuho Bank’s head of economics and strategy Vishnu Varathan said that despite Federal Reserve officials pushing back on expectations of interest rate cuts over the last few days, it was “remarkable” that US 10-year and two-year Treasury yields continued to stay below levels last seen on Dec 13, when Fed chair Jerome Powell last spoke.

In particular, he said that investors appear to have placed emphasis on Powell’s message that traversing the “last mile” of disinflation would not be more problematic.

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“The endgame of rate cuts in 2024 is arguably amplified to reflect market bets that the Fed is significantly less worried about sticky inflation dynamics,” added Varathan.

On the STI, Frasers Logistics and Commercial Trust (FLCT) was the top gainer, rising 0.9 per cent or S$0.01 to S$1.13.

Meanwhile, City Developments Ltd was at the bottom of the table. It shed 1.5 per cent or S$0.10 to S$6.38.

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The trio of banks was mixed on Tuesday.

DBS gained 0.5 per cent or S$0.16 to S$31.66, while OCBC fell 0.2 per cent or S$0.02 to S$12.48 and UOB shed 0.2 per cent or S$0.06 to S$27.68.