Singapore shares close higher on possible easing of trade tensions; STI up 1%

SINGAPORE – Local shares rose on April 23 after Wall Street rallied on news that US President Donald Trump has backed away from threats to dismiss Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, while also saying he “won’t play hardball” with China.

The upbeat sentiment here was further boosted by data showing that core inflation slowed more than expected in March.

There was nowhere else for the Straits Times Index (STI) to go but up, with the benchmark adding 1 per cent or 36.91 points to 3,832.32. Gainers trounced losers 385 to 178 on trade of 1.5 billion securities worth $1.7 billion.

Mr Eli Lee, Bank of Singapore’s chief investment strategist, noted that weakness in US shares, Treasuries and the greenback will exert “significant pressure” on Mr Trump to de-escalate. “We see market volatility staying heightened over the near term, given limited progress made in the US trade discussions and uncertainty over President Trump’s threats to remove Powell, which he has since attempted to walk back from,” he said.

Mr Lee warned that a recession could materialise if Mr Trump’s proposed reciprocal tariffs are implemented alongside existing US-China levies.

The STI’s top gainer was Mapletree Logistics Trust, up 3.4 per cent to $1.21, while ST Engineering led the losers, declining 3.8 per cent to $7.08. The local banks thrived: DBS Bank added 2.5 per cent to $42.88; OCBC Bank rose 1.3 per cent to $16.59; and UOB gained 1.1 per cent to $35.95.

Wall Street set the mood, with US shares rising on the Trump turnaround. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq both added 2.7 per cent, while the S&P 500 put on 2.5 per cent.

Regional indexes took the hint. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 2.4 per cent, the Nikkei 225 in Japan gained 1.9 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1.6 per cent. Australian shares rose 1.3 per cent and are back to their level before US “Liberation Day” tariffs sparked a sell-off.

THE BUSINESS TIMES