Singapore shares slide 0.3% amid mixed showing in region
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The Straits Times Index closed down 0.3 per cent or 13.96 points at 4,323.78.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
Benjamin Cher
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SINGAPORE – The Straits Times Index (STI) closed lower on Sept 17 amid a mixed performance from regional bourses.
It fell 0.3 per cent or 13.96 points to 4,323.78.
Across the broader market, decliners outnumbered advancers 286 to 285 after 2.3 billion shares worth $1.4 billion changed hands.
The trio of local banks were down ahead of the US Federal Open Market Committee decision.
DBS Bank was down 0.1 per cent or six cents at $51.47. UOB fell 0.9 per cent or 30 cents to $34.82, and OCBC Bank closed 0.8 per cent or 14 cents lower at $16.66.
Hongkong Land was the top gainer on the STI, finishing up 1.5 per cent or 10 US cents at US$6.76.
The biggest loser was Jardine Matheson, closing down 1.8 per cent or US$1.12 at US$59.69.
Across the region, major indexes were mixed. South Korea’s Kospi closed down 1.1 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended 0.3 per cent lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed up 1.8 per cent, and the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index ended 0.7 per cent higher.
The equity markets have priced in a 25-basis-point US rate cut with investors primed on the tone of the delivery of the cut, said Mr Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
With rate cuts no longer a surprise, equity markets are at near-record levels, and investors anticipate the US Federal Reserve to follow the markets’ preferred script.
With consumer spending still strong and corporate earnings forecasts set higher, equities continue to climb. The S&P 500 has momentum outside of tech, with the broader market having its own momentum, said Mr Innes.
“Add in a Fed cutting into a non-recessionary environment, and history suggests risk assets can thrive,” he said. THE BUSINESS TIMES
