Singapore stocks dip as region spills red ink; STI down 0.1%

SINGAPORE – Investors painted the region a light shade of red on Nov 21 amid concerns about possible US trade tariffs under Donald Trump’s upcoming presidency.

The Straits Times Index (STI) took a minor hit, dipping just 0.1 per cent, or 4.42 points, to 3,739.22, with losers beating gainers 284 to 233 on trade of 1.3 billion securities worth $1.2 billion.

Wall Street was little better overnight after quarterly results from Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, fell a little short of investor expectations. The Dow closed 0.3 per cent higher but the S&P 500 was flat and the Nasdaq slipped 0.1 per cent.

Regional indexes took the hint and ended in negative territory. South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.1 per cent, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell 0.9 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.5 per cent. Malaysian and Indonesian stocks both ended 0.6 per cent lower while the Australian bourse finished flat.

Asian markets could see a lift in sentiment on the margin with any acceleration in the US economy and market outlooks, noted Mr Raj Singh, portfolio manager at Principal Asset Management.

“However, (the) looming threat from tariffs will keep uncertainty elevated in Asian markets, and sequencing of US policies on deregulations, tariffs and immigration will be important for Asia,” he said.

Mr Singh also foresees Asia financials possibly benefiting from higher interest rates, as policymakers in the region may need to keep rates elevated to support their currencies in the face of a stronger US dollar.

Singapore Exchange was the STI’s top gainer of the day, rising 3 per cent to $12.53, while telco Singtel came in at the bottom of the table, shedding 2.2 per cent to close at $3.06.

The trio of local lenders ended the session mixed. DBS Bank rose 0.8 per cent to $42.56, while UOB was down 0.2 per cent to $36.15 and OCBC Bank fell 0.3 per cent to $16.43.

THE BUSINESS TIMES