STI bucks regional rout but rises only 0.1%

SINGAPORE – Local shares defied the rout on most regional markets after a downbeat session on Wall Street to inch into positive territory on Oct 24.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) added 0.1 per cent, or 4.17 points, to 3,604.95 with losers beating out gainers 313 to 217 on trading volumes of 1.3 billion securities worth $1.1 billion.

Two Jardine companies bookended the STI tally. DFI Retail Group clocked a 2.6 per cent rise to US$2.36, making the Asian retailer, with brands including Cold Storage, the top STI performer. Hongkong Land, in contrast, reported a 2 per cent dip to US$3.95.

Wall Street set the tone for much of the region. Key indexes opened in the red and kept falling in their worst declines in weeks after another mixed round of corporate earnings reports.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq dived 1.6 per cent, with all the Magnificent Seven shares falling. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1 per cent and the S&P 500 fell 0.9 per cent.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 managed a meagre 0.1 per cent rise but other key indexes fell. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped 1.3 per cent, Shanghai was down 0.7 per cent, as was the Kospi in Seoul, while Australian shares dipped 0.1 per cent.

Mr Tan De Jun, portfolio manager of the research team at iFast, noted that the STI overall remains relatively flat. He attributed the sluggishness to the uncertainty surrounding the pace of Federal Reserve rate cuts and the upcoming US presidential election.

Mr Stephen Innes, managing partner of SPI Asset Management, said of the Asian market performance: “The market is increasingly pricing for a ‘red sweep’, with bonds reacting to a potential Trump victory alongside a Congress eager to greenlight his inflationary playbook.

“Picture this: Tariffs on the rise, fiscal belts loosening, and immigration controls tightening – setting the stage for inflation to roar and wages to skyrocket.” THE BUSINESS TIMES