BullsAndBears
STI ends lower despite gains by most regional bourses
• Hang Seng, Nikkei, Kospi and Jakarta all up, but KLCI down • Three local banks close in the red, with falls from 0.2% to 0.5% • Jardine Cycle & Carriage tops STI stocks, climbing 1.2%
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Yong Jun Yuan
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Singapore shares declined as regional indexes climbed yesterday.
The Straits Times Index (STI) ended down 0.2 per cent at 3,350.17. Across the broader market, 1.56 billion securities worth $1.35 billion were traded as advancers beat decliners 264 to 180.
In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed up 3.2 per cent, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed up 1.5 per cent, South Korea's Kospi closed up 0.9 per cent and the Jakarta Composite Index closed up 0.7 per cent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) bucked the regional trend to close down 0.1 per cent.
Singapore Exchange market strategist Geoff Howie noted in a report released on March 21 that a more hawkish outlook for US interest rates could have supported recent gains in local bank stocks. DBS, UOB and OCBC rose 6.4 per cent, 19.2 per cent and 5.5 per cent year-to-date as at March 18.
He also noted that the CME FedWatch Tool, which analyses the probability of the Federal Open Market Committee rate moves for upcoming meetings, saw expectations for a target band of 200 to 225 basis points rise from 17 per cent to 42 per cent after more hawkish comments from the Fed.
The three banks closed in the red yesterday. DBS fell 0.5 per cent to close at $35.04, UOB declined 0.2 per cent to end at $32.13 and OCBC closed down 0.3 per cent at $12.13.
Jardine Cycle & Carriage topped the STI stocks, climbing 1.2 per cent to close at $23.77. Jardine Matheson Holdings was at the bottom of the table, closing down 1.4 per cent at US$54.65.
In a report published yesterday, local brokerage UOB KayHian said Singapore companies will likely see a mild impact from the resurging Covid-19 situation in China, although the outlook remains cloudy on the Chinese government's zero-Covid-19 strategy.
The brokerage provides research on eight Singapore companies with more than 70 per cent revenue exposure to China.
