Local shares ended the week lower yesterday despite a positive Wall Street session overnight that was boosted by gains in big technology stocks.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) ended 0.06 per cent, or 1.86 points, lower at 3,184.54. Losers outpaced gainers 247 to 227 on trade of 1.69 billion shares worth $1.04 billion.
Key regional markets were mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 1.07 per cent, Seoul's Kospi fell 0.36 per cent, while the Jakarta Composite was down 0.02 per cent. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.2 per cent and the Kuala Lumpur Composite gained 0.61 per cent.
Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley noted: "Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell stayed solidly on message overnight, emphasising once again the Fed's priority in assisting the US employment recovery while dismissing inflation concerns as transitory."
Still, Asian markets are "once again adopting a more cautious posture" as cyclicals under-performed overnight in New York, he added.
ST Engineering ruled at the top of the STI, up 2.3 per cent to $3.99. JPMorgan said in a Thursday report that it will be moving ST Engineering to an "overweight" rating with a December price target of $4.80.
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was the worst performer on the STI, slipping 1.5 per cent to $1.29.
The most heavily traded stock by volume on the index was Thai Beverage, which ended 0.7 per cent lower at 77 cents after around 28.1 million shares changed hands.
Catalist-listed investment holding firm Mercurius Capital Investment saw heavy trading after it proposed to acquire 10 grocery businesses in Malaysia for $36 million. The stock rose 7.7 per cent to seven cents as 135.2 million shares changed hands.
Likewise, mining firm BlackGold Natural Resources rallied on heavy volume after it proposed to buy Tengri Coal and Energy for $1 billion. It rose 12.5 per cent to 1.8 cents with over 74.2 million shares done.
