Singapore shares begin week in the red amid profit-taking; STI down 0.4%

SINGAPORE - Singapore stocks ended the first trading day of the week lower amid cautious investor sentiment and profit-taking across the market.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) lost 0.4 per cent, or 13.79 points, to end the trading session on Feb 26 at 3,171.12.

Across the broader market, decliners outnumbered advancers 325 to 241. Daily turnover came in at 1.78 billion securities worth a collective $1.06 billion.

Other markets in the region mostly closed lower, as investors remained cautious about the usual suspects: interest rates and inflation data.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.5 per cent, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index shed 0.1 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.8 per cent.

The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.9 per cent, but Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.4 per cent.

Saxo Markets head of FX strategy Charu Chanana said the focus this week is again on macroeconomic factors. In particular, the United States’ core personal consumption expenditure – widely known as the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge – is on the radar.

“While a hot print is likely to again question the last mile of the disinflation train, there is little scope for markets to price in any additional hawkishness data or comments,” she said.

DBS Bank was the biggest loser by value on the STI, shedding 1 per cent to close at $33.50. The other local lenders also ended the day in the red – UOB lost 0.2 per cent to $28.18, while OCBC Bank fell 0.3 per cent to $13.33.

Venture Corp was the top constituent gainer, rising 5 per cent to $14.40 on a cum-dividend basis.

Seatrium was the most heavily traded stock, with about 873.5 million shares traded. The company on Feb 26 reported a net loss of $1.7 billion for the second half of its fiscal year ended December 2023. The counter fell 2.2 per cent to close at 9.1 cents.

THE BUSINESS TIMES