Singapore shares edge 0.1% higher as regional markets end mixed
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 287 to 226.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Renald Yeo
Follow topic:
- Singapore's STI edged up 0.1% to close at 4,589.17, while regional markets showed mixed performance, with losers outpacing gainers 287 to 226.
- Upcoming week expected to bring diverging policy decisions as the Bank of England will cut, the Bank of Japan will hike, and the ECB will hold.
- Sats was the top STI gainer, climbing 3.5% to $3.60, while Jardine Matheson slipped 1.3% to US$69; local banks DBS, OCBC and UOB also rose.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Singapore stocks ended higher on Dec 15, even as regional markets delivered a mixed performance.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) inched up 0.1 per cent, or 2.72 points, to close at 4,589.17. The iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index also gained 0.1 per cent, rising 1.35 points to 1,435.99.
Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 287 to 226, with about 1.1 billion securities worth $1.2 billion changing hands.
Regional markets were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.3 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.3 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi declined 1.8 per cent, while Malaysia’s FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 0.4 per cent.
The coming week is expected to bring “some diverging policy decisions”, said Mr Neil Wilson, UK investment strategist at Saxo Markets.
“The Bank of England will cut, the Bank of Japan will hike, and the European Central Bank will hold rates steady,” he said. “All three decisions are firmly expected so (they) shouldn’t spook the horses.”
The week will also feature delayed US data releases, including figures on employment, retail sales and inflation, “which will provide a last look at the economy before the run into the year end”, Mr Wilson added.
On the STI, SATS was the top gainer, climbing 3.5 per cent or 12 cents to $3.60.
Jardine Matheson was the worst performer among the index’s constituents, slipping 1.3 per cent or 94 US cents to US$69.
The three local banks all ended higher. DBS Bank rose 0.5 per cent or 25 cents to $55.29, OCBC Bank gained 0.5 per cent or nine cents to $19.29, and UOB added 0.1 per cent or four cents to $34.76. THE BUSINESS TIMES
