Singapore shares fall as investors await US jobs data; STI down 0.1%

SINGAPORE – Investors here and across the region opted to go into a holding pattern on Sept 6 ahead of a crucial jobs report from the United States that will determine interest rate policy.

The air of uncertainty saw the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) drift down a modest 0.1 per cent, or 4.19 points, to 3,454.47, with gainers easing ahead of losers 211 to 198 on trade of 1.1 billion shares worth $1.3 billion.

The US jobs report for August will be the last major data release before the Federal Reserve meets later in September to weigh up the size of interest rate cuts.

Mr Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said that the odds of rate cuts are locked in. However, indications of a softening US labour market will determine if the Fed will decide on a “full-blown” 50 basis point rate cut to provide an extra lifeline to the economy, he added.

The wary mood also hit key Wall Street indexes overnight: Tech shares nudged the Nasdaq ahead 0.3 per cent; the S&P 500 declined 0.3 per cent; and the Dow fell 0.5 per cent.

The biggest gainer on the STI was logistics real estate investment trust Mapletree Logistics Trust, which climbed 2.9 per cent to $1.40. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was the STI’s biggest decliner, sliding 3.4 per cent to close at $2.52.

CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust was again the most actively traded counter by volume, a title it has held for three days straight. The stock rose 2.4 per cent to end at $2.14 on trade of 80.2 million shares worth $170.9 million.

Regional markets ended mostly in the red.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.7 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi was down 1.2 per cent and Shanghai stocks dived 0.8 per cent but Australia’s ASX 200 defied the cautious mood and climbed 0.4 per cent.

Trade on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was halted due to a typhoon.

THE BUSINESS TIMES