Singapore stocks track Wall Street decline; STI inches down 0.04%

SINGAPORE stocks fell slightly on Thursday (Jun 22) at the close, tracking losses on Wall Street.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) slid 0.04 per cent or 1.23 points to close at 3,222.43. Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 191 to 169, after 700.8 million securities worth S$945 million changed hands.

IG market analyst Yeap Jun Rong noted that US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell made a series of hawkish comments on Wednesday, and that US equities “seem to be taking his words more seriously”.

Yeap noted that Powell maintained his stance that the inflation fight “has a long way to go”, and that most central bank officials expect rates to rise further, although there was still a significant degree of data-dependence.

Meanwhile, markets in Hong Kong and mainland China were closed for holidays, offering a break for Chinese equities amid renewed tensions in the US-China relationship, he said.

As for Singapore, Yeap noted that the STI is trading within a “symmetrical triangle pattern”, which represents some market indecision.

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The top gainer on the STI was DBS, which rose 1.5 per cent or S$0.47 to close at S$31.82.

The trio of local banks recorded mixed trading on Wednesday. UOB rose 0.2 per cent or S$0.06 to S$28.05, while OCBC lost 1 per cent or S$0.12 to S$12.39.

Bourse operator Singapore Exchange was also one of the top gainers, rising 1.3 per cent or S$0.12 to S$9.58.

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Meanwhile, the top decliner was Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, which fell 1.8 per cent or S$0.03 to close at S$1.64.

Elsewhere in the region, key indices were mixed. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index gained 0.1 per cent and the Kospi Composite Inex gained 0.4 per cent. Meanwhile, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.9 per cent.