STI rises 0.5% amid subdued regional trading

SINGAPORE – Investors nudged local shares higher on Wednesday during a session more noticeable for its lack of direction than anything.

There were

few leads from Wall Street

overnight, where shares inched down, while regional markets were equally stuck in a rut, albeit one with slightly more black ink than red.

The lacklustre session left the Straits Times Index (STI) up 0.5 per cent, or 14.3 points, to 3,174.18, with gainers trouncing losers 318 to 242 in the wider market after one billion securities worth $824.1 million changed hands.

IG market analyst Yeap Jun Rong noted that US two-year yields edged above 5 per cent overnight, while 10-year yields continued to consolidate around a 16-year high.

“Elevated US yields and the weaker handover from Wall Street may put on some wait-and-see in the region in the lead-up to Nvidia’s result release,” he said, adding that this “may determine if the artificial intelligence hype and tech rally can find another round of invigoration”.

Regional indexes were mixed after the three US indexes all sank amid concerns about the state of the consumer sector, following weaker-than-expected financial results from retailers.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.3 per cent, and Australia’s stock index added 0.4 per cent after hitting a six-week low earlier in the week. South Korea’s Kospi defied the trend, dipping 0.4 per cent.

Local investors took heart from Singapore’s lower headline and core inflation rates in July, which were largely in line with estimates.

Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust was the STI’s top gainer, rising 2 per cent to close at $1.53.

DFI Retail Group was at the other end of the scale, dropping 1.3 per cent to US$2.34.

The three local banks were in the black: UOB rose 0.9 per cent to $28.08, OCBC added 0.6 per cent to $12.32, and DBS climbed 0.4 per cent to $32.80.

THE BUSINESS TIMES