Singapore stocks fall following dismal Wall St results; STI down 0.5%
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Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 286 to 195.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Mia Pei & Chloe Lim
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SINGAPORE – Local shares drifted down on Dec 11 as investors here and across the globe await inflation data from the US that will determine interest rate moves.
The wary mood was reflected in the downbeat results on Wall Street overnight, where the key indexes all slipped by around 3 per cent.
The Straits Times Index (STI) shed 20.73 points, or 0.5 per cent, to end at 3,792.82. Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 286 to 195 on modest trade of 919.6 million securities worth $1 billion.
Hongkong Land was the STI’s biggest loser, falling 3.6 per cent to US$4.57, while Thai Beverage led the winners, adding 1.8 per cent to 57.5 cents on a cum dividend basis.
The local banks closed lower: DBS declined 0.7 per cent to $43.68; OCBC was down 0.6 per cent to $16.63; and UOB lost 0.1 per cent to $37.10.
The declines here came despite positive sentiment over Singapore’s full-year growth for 2024, which economists predict will climb significantly, based on a Monetary Authority of Singapore survey. However, the forecast for 2025 expansion picked up only slightly.
Elsewhere, key regional indexes ended mixed. Malaysian shares dipped 0.4 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.8 per cent, while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo closed almost flat and South Korea’s Kospi rose 1 per cent.
The Australian bourse slipped 0.5 per cent to its lowest close in three weeks.
More details on China’s monetary and fiscal easing could be unveiled following an annual economic conference, which kicked off on Dec 11.
Ms Alicia Garcia Herrero, Asia-Pacific chief economist at Natixis, said a divergence in growth in the Asia-Pacific region is likely to be more acute in 2025, adding: “The (US Federal Reserve) easing should help, but less than originally expected.
“Against such a backdrop, China should, in principle, be hit the hardest, which calls for more consumption-oriented stimulus.
“Still, we don’t expect China to be able to avoid additional deceleration in 2025.” THE BUSINESS TIMES
