Singapore stocks fall as Fed holds firm on rates; STI down 0.7%
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The benchmark Straits Times Index lost 34.56 points to finish at 4,967.61.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Young Zhan Heng
- Singapore stocks closed lower on March 19, with the STI declining 0.7% to 4,967.61, influenced by the US Federal Reserve holding interest rates steady.
- DFI Retail Group was the worst performer, falling 5.1% after trading ex-dividend, while Sembcorp Industries led gainers, rising 1% on the blue-chip index.
- Regional indexes also declined, and Swissquote's analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya noted rising oil prices impacted market optimism after the Fed's decision.
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SINGAPORE - Singapore stocks ended lower on March 19, as the US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady overnight.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) lost 0.7 per cent or 34.56 points to finish at 4,967.61. Meanwhile, the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index gained 1.4 per cent or 19.90 points to 1,477.66.
Sembcorp Industries led the gainers on Singapore’s blue-chip index, rising 1 per cent or six cents to $6.16.
The worst performer among STI constituents was DFI Retail Group, which fell 5.1 per cent or 24 US cents to US$4.46 after trading ex-dividend.
The three local banks ended mixed on March 19. OCBC Bank advanced 0.2 per cent or five cents to $21.50, while DBS Bank finished 0.5 per cent or 29 cents lower at $57.47, and UOB declined 0.1 per cent or five cents to $37.16.
Across the broader market, gainers trailed losers 181 to 427, after 1.9 billion securities worth $2.5 billion changed hands.
Key regional indexes finished lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 2 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 3.4 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi was down 2.7 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dropped 0.5 per cent.
Ms Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, said that the Fed’s decision to hold interest rates, along with its accompanying statements, were “perceived as relatively hawkish by markets”.
She also noted that diesel and US petrol prices have risen nearly 40 per cent since the beginning of March. With the rebounding of oil and gas prices, the early optimism across the stock market has been wiped out, she said. THE BUSINESS TIMES
