Singapore stocks end lower amid mixed regional trading; STI down 0.3%

SINGAPORE – Local shares ended lower on Sept 9 as regional bourses posted a mixed performance.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.3 per cent or 10.95 points to 4,297.57 points.

Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 291 to 275, after 1.6 billion securities worth $1.4 billion changed hands.

Key indexes in the region were varied.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.4 per cent, and Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index declined 1.8 per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, meanwhile, was up 1.2 per cent. Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur Composite Index rose 0.1 per cent, and South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.3 per cent.

With an abundance of liquidity on the sidelines and in the absence of a recession, US rate cuts could prove to be a tailwind for markets, as history has often shown, said Mr Vasu Menon, managing director of investment strategy at OCBC.

“There will no doubt be occasional market pullbacks and continued volatility. However, these have become fixtures in a complex and fast-changing investment landscape... They are not reasons to stay away from markets,” he added.

On the STI, UOL was the top gainer. The counter rose 2.2 per cent or 16 cents to finish at $7.55.

Jardine Matheson was the biggest decliner, falling 1.4 per cent or 82 US cents to US$59.15.

The local banks ended mixed. DBS was up 0.1 per cent or three cents at $50.88, while UOB shed 0.2 per cent or eight cents to close at $35.57, and OCBC was down 0.4 per cent or six cents at $16.76.

THE BUSINESS TIMES