Singapore shares edge higher amid mixed regional trading, STI up 0.1%

SINGAPORE – Local shares closed in positive territory on Feb 29 – the first gain this week – thanks to a sliver of optimism about upcoming data from the United States.

The increase in the Straits Times Index (STI) was certainly nothing to shout about – a modest rise of 0.1 per cent, or 2.92 points, to 3,141.85.

Trade was reasonably robust. Gainers pipped losers 282 to 277 after 1.9 billion securities worth $2.1 billion changed hands.

It was a mixed bag for regional markets after Wall Street eased off a little overnight with all three key indexes down.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell 0.1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.2 per cent and the Kospi in Seoul shed 0.4 per cent. But the Bursa advanced 0.4 per cent in Kuala Lumpur. Australian shares gained 0.5 per cent to close just shy of their record high.

Global investors have been in a holding pattern awaiting the release of the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge – personal consumption expenditures (PCE).

SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said that if the PCE figures “come in hotter than expected”, expectations for interest rate cuts could diminish.

“This could lead traders to no longer anticipate three full quarter-point cuts.

“However, such an adjustment might not be solely influenced by seasonal price pressures in January, where companies often front-load price rises with the hope that consumers will forget about them as the year progresses.”

UOL was the STI’s biggest loser, down 4.2 per cent to $5.89. The property group earlier this week reported a jump in earnings to $572.7 million, driven chiefly by gains from selling a unit that held Parkroyal on Kitchener Road. The counter was also heavily traded with 56 million shares done.

Keppel and Sembcorp Industries were among the top constituent gainers. Keppel rose 1.7 per cent to $7.24 while Sembcorp added 2 per cent to $5.10.

THE BUSINESS TIMES