Singapore stocks end lower amid mixed regional trading
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The benchmark Straits Times Index lost 0.1 per cent or 2.77 points to finish at 4,437.44.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Tan Nai Lun
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- Singapore's STI fell 0.1% to 4,437.44 amid mixed regional trading, with losers exceeding gainers.
- The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates but hinted at restraint, impacting Treasury yields.
- US and China trade truce may reduce risk, however, it does not reduce long-term geopolitical risks.
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SINGAPORE - Singapore stocks ended lower on Oct 30, amid mixed trading in the region.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) lost 0.1 per cent or 2.77 points to finish at 4,437.44. Meanwhile, the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index gained 0.1 per cent or 1.50 points to 1,461.48.
Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 365 to 249, after 1.7 billion securities worth $1.7 billion changed hands.
Overnight, the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points. Yet, the Federal Open Market Committee surprised with an unexpected hawkish restraint that sent US Treasury yields and US dollars higher, said Mr Vishnu Varathan, head of macro research, Asia ex-Japan at Mizuho Securities.
“To be sure, the Fed is not alone in exercising forward-looking restraint on easing,” he said. “But interim pauses are more inconveniences than enduring impedance as latent downside risks linger.”
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump lowered tariffs on China after his meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Oct 30.
Ms Lorraine Tan, director of equity research (Asia) at Morningstar, said the US-China trade truce reduces risk premium in the near term, particularly in China shares, although it does not materially reduce long-term geopolitical risks.
Key regional indexes were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.2 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index inched 0.04 per cent higher, South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.1 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was up 0.2 per cent.
On the STI, Keppel was the top gainer, rising 1.6 per cent or 16 cents to end at $10.05.
The worst performer was Mapletree Industrial Trust, falling 2.7 per cent or six cents to $2.16.
The local banks ended mixed on Oct 30. DBS rose 0.5 per cent or 28 cents to $53.98 and OCBC was up 1.1 per cent or 19 cents at $17.04, while UOB finished 0.5 per cent or 18 cents lower at $34.72. THE BUSINESS TIMES
