Singapore stocks inch up after Fed rate cut; STI rises 0.2%
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The STI is up 8.93 points at 4,520.83.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Benjamin Cher
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- Singapore's STI rose 0.2% after the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points, with gainers outpacing losers.
- Hongkong Land led STI gainers, up 5.5%, while Jardine Matheson was the worst performer, down 2.7%; local banks also saw gains.
- Economist Jose Torres noted the Fed's actions boost liquidity, benefiting equities, as seen in the Russell 2000's record high.
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SINGAPORE – Singapore stocks ended higher on Dec 11 after the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.2 per cent, or 8.93 points, to finish at 4,520.83.
Meanwhile, the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index lost 0.1 per cent, or 0.91 points, to 1,434.11.
Across the broader market, gainers edged out losers 256 to 244 after 1.1 billion securities worth $1.3 billion changed hands.
Key regional indexes ended up mixed.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was flattish, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.9 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.6 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 0.9 per cent.
Hongkong Land led the gainers on Singapore’s blue-chip index, rising 5.5 per cent, or 36 US cents, to end at US$6.93.
The worst performer among STI constituents was Jardine Matheson, which fell 2.7 per cent, or US$1.85, to US$66.65.
The three local banks ended higher. DBS Bank gained 0.5 per cent, or 27 cents, to $54.39, OCBC Bank was flat at $18.95, and UOB advanced 0.3 per cent, or 10 cents, to $34.28.
The top performer on the iEdge Singapore Next 50 was BRC Asia, which rose 2.5 per cent, or 10 cents, to $4.08.
The index’s biggest loser was UOB Kay Hian, which fell 2 per cent, or five cents, to $2.47.
Mr Jose Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, said the latest Fed moves mark a “reversal” from quantitative tightening.
The addition of “new fixed-income instruments” is similar to quantitative easing, bringing “music to the ears of stock bulls, as it bolsters liquidity conditions and adds fuel to the fire of some of the most speculative areas in equities”, he said.
“Indeed, the small-cap, cyclically oriented Russell 2000 has reached a fresh all-time record for the second day in a row, and all of the major US domestic benchmarks are advancing on the session,” Mr Torres said. THE BUSINESS TIMES
