Singapore shares continue slide with 0.2% dip as region ends mixed
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The STI ended the week lower as its regional peers closed mixed.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
Benjamin Cher
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE – Singapore stocks ended the week lower on Sept 19 amid a mixed performance from regional indexes.
The Straits Times Index (STI) was down 0.2 per cent, or 9.91 points, at 4,302.71, continuing its slide.
Across the broader market, advancers outnumbered decliners 295 to 262 after 2.6 billion shares worth $3.3 billion changed hands.
The trio of local banks closed lower. DBS was down 1.5 per cent, or 76 cents, at $50.47, UOB slipped 0.5 per cent, or 17 cents, to $34.63, and OCBC Bank fell 0.6 per cent, or 10 cents, to $16.46.
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was the top gainer on the STI, closing 3.1 per cent, or 10 cents, higher at $3.30.
The biggest loser was DFI Retail, which declined 3.4 per cent, or 11 US cents, to US$3.17.
Across the region, major indexes ended mixed on Sept 19.
South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.5 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.6 cent. Both Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and Malaysia’s KLCI closed flat.
In the aftermath of the US Federal Reserve’s rate cut, major benchmarks S&P 500, Dow Jones and Russell 2000 have hit record highs together – a rare occurrence, said Mr Stephen Innes, managing director at SPI Asset Management.
The rate cut amid growth has created an environment for risk as capital comes into the market.
The small caps might be the soul of this rally, said Mr Innes, as the Russell 2000 increased over 2 per cent.
These companies were the first to be hit when interest rates were hiked and so were also the first to see the upside when rates were cut.
“If the easing cycle continues, small caps become the high-beta torchbearers. If not, their debt loads could once again turn noose-like,” he said. THE BUSINESS TIMES
