Singapore shares down amid mixed regional showing; STI drops 0.5%
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Singapore’s benchmark STI fell 0.5 per cent or 19.92 points to end at 4,241.14.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Wong Chia Peck
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SINGAPORE - Local stocks fell for the second straight session on July 28 amid a mixed performance by Asian bourses, as optimism over developments on US trade deals was countered by uncertainty in Japan.
While most Asian equities closed higher, encouraged by the latest US-European Union trade deal and signs that Washington’s truce with Beijing will extend, markets such as Japan and Malaysia went against the trend.
The KLCI closed 0.3 per cent lower, while the Nikkei 225 ended the day 1.1 per cent lower, the most since July 1.
The political situation remains uncertain in Japan after the incumbent Liberal Democratic Party lost its majority in the Upper House elections on July 20. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has signalled he intends to stay in office, brushing aside the growing number of calls for him to resign.
“While political uncertainty surrounding PM Ishiba’s potential resignation may introduce volatility, markets expect policy continuity,” Eastspring Investments, the US$256 billion (S$329 billion) asset management business of Prudential, said in a report published on July 28.
Singapore’s benchmark Straits Times Index fell 0.5 per cent or 19.92 points to end at 4,241.14.
Across the broader market, gainers beat losers 290 to 276, with around two billion securities worth $1.4 billion changing hands.
Keppel DC Reit was the top blue-chip gainer, rising 2.2 per cent to $2.37. Jardine Matheson was the biggest decliner, slipping 2 per cent to US$55.32.
The trio of local banks ended lower. DBS Bank fell 0.8 per cent or 40 cents to $48.66; OCBC Bank dropped 0.5 per cent or eight cents to $17.10; and UOB shed 0.7 per cent or 25 cents to close at $36.90.
The rest of the Asian markets were mostly higher. In Greater China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was the leader in Asian bourses with a 0.7 per cent increase, while Shenzhen Component rose 0.4 per cent.
That came after the South China Morning Post reported that the US and China are expected to extend their trade truce by another three months.
South Korea’s Kospi rose as well, also by 0.4 per cent. THE BUSINESS TIMES
