Singapore stocks slip amid mixed trading in region

The Straits Times Index (STI) lost 0.1 per cent to close at 3,117.79 points yesterday, with mixed trading in Asia amid a Wall Street wobble.

In the wider Singapore market, losers outnumbered gainers 284 to 182, with 735 million shares worth $757.8 million changing hands.

This came after the Monetary Authority of Singapore said it expects inflation to ease next year while remaining well above the 1.5 per cent it had averaged since 2000.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index ended up 0.7 per cent and the Jakarta Composite Index jumped 1.2 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 0.9 per cent, South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.2 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dipped 0.1 per cent.

IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong said uncertainty in US trading - with all three major United States indexes closing in the red on Monday - contributed to the mixed performance in Asia.

"Both top-and bottom-line outperformance from Goldman Sachs and Bank of America aided to underpin an initial rally, but warnings of a hiring slowdown from Apple quickly grabbed the market's attention and brought back some caution of a further economic downturn," Mr Yeap said.

The biggest winner among Singapore's blue-chip stocks was Sembcorp Industries, after the group said in a bourse filing yesterday that its financial results are expected to be materially higher for the first half of this year, buoyed by continued high electricity prices in Singapore and India. The counter closed 4.1 per cent higher at $3.05.

Jardine Matheson Holdings was also among the top gainers, rising 2.7 per cent to close at US$53.54.

At the bottom of the table for the second consecutive day was Genting Singapore, which lost 2.5 per cent to end at 77 cents.

The counter was also the most heavily traded among the index constituents, with 24.3 million shares changing hands.