STI spared Asia's sell-off with 0.66 % gains to 3,184.30 points

MARKETS in Asia largely closed lower on Thursday (Jan 6) as investors scurried for the exit, after the Federal Reserve released its December 2021 meeting minutes overnight. Markets interpreted the United States central bank to be overtly hawkish as officials are ready to hike rates sooner than expected.

However, Singapore's Straits Times Index (STI) was spared the rout and finished trading 0.66 per cent or 20.86 points higher at 3,184.30 points.

Banking stocks, which in early trade were a sea of red, managed to eke out gains as they generally benefit from rising interest rates. UOB rose 0.76 per cent to S$27.70, DBS up 1.75 per cent to S$33.82 and OCBC jumped 0.86 per cent to S$11.68.

However, 6 out of the 7 real estate investment trusts (Reits) in the 30-stock STI finished in the red with Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust - being 2.63 lower at S$1.48 - leading the decline among the blue-chip index.

Prices of Reits are generally sensitive to interest rate movements.

Decliners beat gainers 245 to 218 in the broader market, with 1.57 billion securities worth S$1.08 billion transacted.

Markets elsewhere in Asia were mainly in the red. Japan's Nikkei 225 slid 2.88 per cent to 28,487.87 points, with Australia's S&P/ASX 200 not far behind - dropping 2.74 per cent to 7,358.32 points.

South Korea's Kospi was at a 5-week low when the index closed down 1.13 per cent at 2,920.53 points; the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI closed at 1,533.36, down 0.94 per cent.

The Shanghai Composite Index was 0.25 per cent lower at 3,586.08 points, but its counterpart Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.72 per cent to 23,072.86 points.