STI rises 0.7% ahead of US Fed’s meeting
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The benchmark Straits Times Index closed 0.7 per cent or 28.81 points higher to 4,216.19.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
Young Zhan Heng
SINGAPORE – Singapore stocks rose on Aug 19 as the market awaits the outcome of the US Federal Reserve’s three-day Economic Policy Symposium, which is being held in Jackson Hole in Wyoming from Aug 21.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) closed 0.7 per cent or 28.81 points higher at 4,216.19 points.
In the broader market, gainers beat losers 269 to 217 as 2.1 billion securities worth $1.66 billion changed hands. The top gainer on the STI was Jardine Matheson Holdings, which advanced 4.2 per cent or US$2.41 to US$59.43.
The trio of local banks ended the day higher. DBS was up 0.5 per cent or 26 cents to $49.86, UOB remained flattish, rising only one cent to $34.85, while OCBC rose 0.5 per cent or eight cents to end at $16.76.
The biggest loser on the index was ST Engineering, which lost 1.8 per cent or 15 cents to finish at $7.99. This was the second consecutive day the counter emerged as the biggest loser, despite having announced a 19.7 per cent rise in its first-half earnings last week.
Across Asia, major indexes were mostly down. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.8 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.4 per cent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.2 per cent.
The Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 0.3 per cent.
Mr Vasu Menon, managing director of investment strategy at OCBC, said Fed chairman Jerome Powell is under intense pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut rates. THE BUSINESS TIMES