Singapore shares fall along with regional declines; STI slips 0.2%
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
In the wider Singapore market, losers beat gainers 359 to 216, after 1.4 billion securities worth $1.4 billion changed hands.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Wong Chia Peck
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE – The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.2 per cent, or 7.88 points, to end at 4,265.98 on Sept 26. It mirrored declines in most Asian markets, after a sharp upward revision in US growth dented hopes of more interest rate cuts.
Gross domestic product (GDP) rose at an upwardly revised 3.8 per cent annualised rate in the second quarter, the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said in its third GDP estimate on Sept 25. The economy was initially reported to have grown at a 3.3 per cent pace.
“On the surface, strong GDP should be good news, but the problem is such strong growth doesn’t support further Federal Reserve rate cuts, and it could even boost inflation expectations on top of potential tariff-led pressures,” said Ms Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
“Understandably, October rate cut expectations took a hit after the GDP release. The probability of a cut fell from around 94 per cent to below 88 per cent,” she added.
In the wider Singapore market, losers beat gainers 359 to 216, after 1.4 billion securities worth $1.4 billion changed hands.
The biggest gainer among the STI constituents was City Developments, which advanced 0.4 per cent, or three cents, to $6.83.
Airport services and in-flight catering provider Sats was the worst performer on Singapore’s blue-chip index. It fell 1.8 per cent, or six cents, to end at $3.35.
The trio of local banks closed little changed. DBS Bank inched up 0.04 per cent, or two cents, to $50.29; UOB rose 0.1 per cent, or three cents, to $34.39; and OCBC Bank fell 0.1 per cent, or one cent, to $16.25.
Elsewhere in Asia, key markets ended the week mostly lower. South Korea’s Kospi was the region’s worst performer, slumping 2.5 per cent, followed by Taiwan’s Taiex, which shed 1.7 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 1.4 per cent and the CSI 300 Index that tracks the 300 biggest stocks in mainland China slid nearly 1 per cent, as new US tariffs against pharmaceutical imports hurt confidence.
Traders are also looking to close positions ahead of the Golden Week holiday in China. THE BUSINESS TIMES
