SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Local shares closed lower for the third straight day on Wednesday, due in part to persistent worries over inflation and rising Covid-19 cases in many parts of Asia as well as overnight losses on Wall Street.
The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 21.01 points or 0.67 per cent to 3,123.26 with losers pipping gainers 229 to 223 on trade of 1.54 billion shares worth $1.48 billion.
Other key gauges were mixed with Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Australia down while Hong Kong, China and Malaysia rose.
Markets appear to be paying little regard to the United States Federal Reserve, which has maintained its easy monetary policy while downplaying inflation risks. Overnight, the more cyclical heavy weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4 per cent.
CMC Markets analyst Kelvin Wong said the Wall Street sell-off has been overblown and was likely due to profit-taking.
SGX market strategist Geoff Howie noted that the decline in global tech shares has made the STI the year's strongest regional benchmark with a 9.8 per cent gain.
Losses here were led by OCBC, UOB and Thai Beverage.
Golden Agri-Resources extended its gains, rising 5.77 per cent to 27.5 cents ahead of its quarterly performance update, which didn't disappoint.
It was the day's second most active with 79.6 million shares done.
After market close, the palm oil giant reported a net profit of US$41 million for the first quarter from a loss of US$95 million in the previous year.
Manulife US Reit retreated 0.7 per cent to 73.5 US cents. The Reit reported after markets closed on Tuesday that it had a portfolio occupancy of 92 per cent for the first quarter to Mar 31.
OCBC Investment Research has maintained a fair value estimate of 82 US cents, citing its resilient portfolio and that it would benefit from the US economic rebound.
