STI falls 0.6% on fears of faster rate hikes
Investors cautious over Fed chief's upbeat assessment of the US economy in his testimony
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KEEPING its head above water was near impossible for the Straits Times Index on the back of a feeble lead from Wall Street as anxiety clicked higher over the prospect of faster rate rises in the US after a much-anticipated testimony of the Federal Reserve's new chairman on the world's largest economy.
Rubbing salt on the wound ahead of another key risk event - the release of US fourth-quarter GDP - was weak macro data out of the region. China's gauge for manufacturing activity for February saw its largest drop since 2011 which was attributed to the Lunar New Year holiday while data showed Japan's industrial production fell at a faster rate in January and India's factory activity slowed to a four-month low in February.
The STI fell 22.45 points or 0.6 per cent to finish at 3,517.94. With an early- and end-February swoon, it left the key index in negative territory for the month by 0.5 per cent, reversing January's gains a tad.
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