Singapore stocks buck regional gains; STI falls 0.6%

SINGAPORE stocks bucked the regional trend and ended a tough week lower on Friday (Apr 8), as the aggressive outlook for the Fed's monetary policy remained the key theme overnight.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.6 per cent or 20.95 points to 3,383.28. Major indexes in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Australia closed between 0.2 and 0.5 per cent higher.

IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong said that, with a quieter economic calendar to end the week, Asia equities were set for a muted day as market expectations continued adjusting towards recent updates on Fed's policy.

This mapped the overall sentiment in the US, which remained fragile, he said, noting that the outperformance seemed concentrated on the defensive - healthcare and consumer staples - and energy sectors.

Among STI constituents, ST Engineering S63 was the biggest gainer, closing 1.2 per cent or S$0.05 higher at S$4.10. Trailing behind was Keppel Corporation BN4 , which closed up 1.1 per cent or S$0.07 at S$6.58.

Finishing at the bottom of the STI performance table were Dairy Farm International D01, which shed 3.4 per cent or US$0.10 to close at US$2.88, and DBS D05 , which lost 2.7 per cent or S$0.96 to close at S$34.37.

The 2 other local banks were also among the decliners; UOB U11 and OCBC O39 both slipped 0.5 per cent to close at S$31.58 and S$12.20 respectively.

Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 243 to 229, with 1.31 billion securities worth S$1.15 billion having changed hands.

The most actively traded counter by volume was once again Sembcorp Marine S51 , which closed flat at S$0.104; some 148.8 million of its shares worth S$15.6 million changed hands.