Singapore stocks dip on Tuesday on inflation jitters; STI down 0.3%

THE Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.3 per cent or 9.55 points to close at 3,227.53 points on Tuesday (Nov 23), as sentiment wavered due to a faster-than-expected rise in Singapore's headline inflation.

The consumer price index (CPI) jumped 3.2 per cent year on year in October - crossing the 3 per cent mark for the first time since March 2013. This was higher than the Bloomberg median forecast of a 2.9 per cent increase.

UOB senior economist Alvin Liew said: "The higher October inflation print and the anticipation of further inflation pressures - which is no longer 'transitory' as previously thought - due to global and domestic factors, vindicates the tightened monetary policy stance by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in its October 2021 policy meeting.

"We keep our projection that another steepening in the Singapore Dollar Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (S$NEER) gradient in April 2022 may be possible."

Decliners outnumbered advancers 262 to 191 in the Singapore market, with 1.88 billion shares worth S$987 million changing hands.

The top performer on the STI was CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) C38U , which closed 1.8 per cent or S$0.04 higher at S$2.23. It was also the most heavily traded counter on Tuesday (Nov 23), with 25.6 million units traded.

At the bottom of the table was Sembcorp Industries U96 , which fell 2 per cent or S$0.04 to S$2.01.

The trio of local banks also ended lower on Tuesday. DBS D05 fell 0.4 per cent or S$0.14 to S$32.39, OCBC O39 closed 0.4 per cent or S$0.05 lower at S$11.76, and UOB U11 dropped 0.4 per cent or S$0.11 to end at S$27.60.

Most Asian markets also closed lower on Tuesday, amid expectations that the US Federal Reserve will tighten monetary policy quicker, following news that Jerome Powell had been nominated by US President Joe Biden to run the Federal Reserve for a second term.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 1.2 per cent or 299.76 points to 24,651.58, the South Korean Kospi closed down 15.92 points or 0.5 per cent at 2,997.33, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index down 3.99 points or 0.3 per cent to 1,522.88.