Singapore stocks track regional decline, STI falls 0.1%
Tan Nai Lun
SINGAPORE stocks ended lower on Tuesday (Sep 12), tracking declines in the region.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.1 per cent or 3.82 points to 3,214.46. Gainers outnumbered losers 279 to 253, after 921.6 million securities worth S$655.8 million changed hands.
Regional indices ended largely in the red. The Hang Seng Index lost 0.4 per cent, the Kospi Composite Index fell 0.8 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index slid 0.1 per cent. The Nikkei 225 index gained 1 per cent.
Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, noted a “no-news yet impending high data risk environment” on Tuesday, as investors watched for the release of US consumer price index (CPI) data on Wednesday and the consumer confidence survey on Friday.
Innes noted that the CPI has retreated to a more manageable range.
But he does not expect headline inflation to return to targets soon, given persistent pressures on service prices, the resurgence of oil prices, and the diminishing impact of favourable base effects.
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“The path ahead remains challenging, and the Federal Reserve still faces a lengthy journey in its efforts to stabilise the economy,” he said.
On the STI, the top gainer was Venture Corporation, which gained 3.2 per cent or S$0.40 to S$13.04.
The top loser was Jardine Cycle and Carriage, which fell 1.2 per cent, or S$0.38 to S$31.42.
The trio of local banks ended lower on Tuesday. DBS slid 0.7 per cent or S$0.23 to S$33.26. OCBC slid 0.1 per cent or S$0.01 to S$12.52, and UOB was down 0.4 per cent or S$0.12 to S$28.30.
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