Singapore stocks fall amid cautious sentiment, mixed regional markets

SINGAPORE – Upcoming data on the United States labour market kept investors here and across the region in a wary mood on March 7, although Wall Street was more optimistic.

The cautious sentiment sent the Straits Times Index (STI) dipping 0.1 per cent or 2.36 points to 3,133.78, with losers beating gainers 280 to 242 on trade of 1.39 billion shares worth $1 billion.

SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes noted that US futures remained relatively subdued and failed to gain momentum, despite Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s less hawkish stance overnight in remarks to lawmakers in Washington. “Perhaps Powell’s remarks aligned closely with the market’s pre-existing rate cut expectations,” he said.

“Alternatively, traders might be holding off on assessing the implications of the upcoming monthly jobs report before making significant moves, as we are still very much in data-dependent mode.”

Mr Powell’s remarks found fertile ground on Wall Street, where the three key indexes rose, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the way with a jump of 6 per cent.

Regional markets were a mixed bag. Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 1.2 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.3 per cent, but South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.2 per cent while surging bank shares sent the Australian bourse up 0.4 per cent to a record high.

The STI’s top gainer was Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, up 4.5 per cent to $1.86.

Singtel posted a strong showing, gaining 1.3 per cent to $2.37. The telco announced on March 7 that it expects to post a net gain of $700 million from a sale of 0.8 per cent of its direct stake in Airtel.

Meanwhile, Jardine Cycle & Carriage came in at the bottom of the blue-chip table, falling 3.2 per cent to $24.03. The trio of local banks ended mixed. DBS Bank gained 0.6 per cent to $33.78 while UOB rose 0.2 per cent to $28.30, but OCBC Bank fell 0.8 per cent to $13.08.

THE BUSINESS TIMES