STI little moved as investors await tapering hints at Jackson Hole on Friday

THE Singapore market moved little on Thursday, with investors awaiting hints on tapering from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium. This gathering of central bankers, policymakers, academics and economists from around the world is to take place on Friday.

The Straits Times Index (STI) was up marginally by 0.06 per cent or 1.93 points to 3,109.42 points on Thursday, as only six of 30 STI constituents registered gains and four were flat.

Dairy Farm International posted gains of 2.31 per cent or US$0.08 to US$3.55, making the supermarket group the best STI performer.

Transport counter ComfortDelGro, which was 1.24 per cent or S$0.02 lower at S$1.60, was the top STI loser. The company is pursuing an initial public offering for its Australian subsidiary to unlock value, but has given little detail of the proposed flotation.

Penny counter Shen Yao was flat at S$0.006 at the closing bell, with over 226.2 million shares traded, as the gold miner emerged the most active stock.

Decliners beat gainers 258 to 181 on the broader market, with 1.39 billion securities worth a total S$1.01 billion having changed hands.

Asian markets were mixed.

South Korea's Kospi dipped 0.58 per cent to 3,128.53 points, after the central bank became the first in Asia to raise interest rates since the pandemic hit. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 also closed 0.54 per cent lower at 7,491.23 points.

The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.09 per cent to 3,501.66 points while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dipped 1.08 per cent to 25,415.69 points.

But the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index climbed 1.02 per cent to 1,585.74 points; Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.06 per cent to 27,742.29 points.