Singapore stocks slip as US Fed chair Powell says equities ‘highly valued’

SINGAPORE – The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.3 per cent or 12.27 points to close at 4,290.4 on Sept 24, as investor sentiment cooled after US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said late on Sept 23 that equity prices could be overvalued.

In the wider Singapore market, gainers edged out losers 285 to 270, after some 1.6 billion shares worth $1.4 billion changed hands.

“The market had been running hot, fuelled by a mix of dovish hope and AI exuberance, but Jerome Powell just wandered into the room with a bucket of cold water,” said Mr Stephen Innes, managing partner of SPI Asset Management.

“When Powell puts on his ‘valuation analyst’ hat and mutters that equities are ‘highly valued’, traders know the fun police have arrived. He wasn’t exactly banging the dovish gong; instead, he tapped the brakes in subtle but unnerving fashion,” he added.

Airport services and in-flight catering provider Sats led the gainers on Singapore’s blue-chip index, rising 2.7 per cent or 9 Singapore cents to end at $3.39.

The worst performer among STI constituents was DFI Retail Group, which lost 2.2 per cent or 7 US cents to close at US$3.14.

Genting Singapore was the most traded blue-chip stock on Sept 24, with 60.3 million shares changing hands. The counter finished 1.3 per cent or one Singapore cent lower at 74.5 cents.

The newly launched iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, which tracks the 50 largest and most liquid stocks outside of the STI, dipped 0.2 per cent.

Performance was mixed across key markets elsewhere in Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.4 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.3 per cent higher, while South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.4 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dropped 0.2 per cent.

THE BUSINESS TIMES