STI drifts to weaker close

THE Straits Times Index drifted within a narrow band for most of Thursday's session before finishing with a 5.26-point loss at 2,940.48. Turnover amounted to 966 million units worth S$1.05 billion, which was lower than the S$1.2 billion on Wednesday. Excluding warrants, there were 215 rises versus 209 falls throughout the market.

Market observers said the index, having jumped more than 7 per cent since the UK voted to leave the European Union on June 23, was now at a crossroads of sorts and was likely to "consolidate", given that bond yields are at all-time lows, versus US stocks at all-time highs.

Wall Street ended Wednesday with a seventh all-time high for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the sixth for the S&P 500 in eight sessions; the performance was largely attributed to hopes of better-than-expected earnings, but more likely because the US Federal Reserve has signalled that it will keep interest rates depressed for longer than previously thought.