SINGAPORE – Local shares ended Tuesday on a fairly upbeat note, as investors shrugged off slightly dour macroeconomic news of Singapore’s core inflation rising further to 5.3 per cent in September.
The benchmark Straits Times Index rose 0.5 per cent or 14.2 points to end at 2,984.15. The local stock market was closed on Monday for Deepavali.
Across the broader market, decliners outnumbered advancers 288 to 266. Daily turnover came in at some 1.5 billion securities worth a total of $1.3 billion.
Mr Vishnu Varathan, head of economics and strategy for Asia at Mizuho Bank, said one theme that resonates across key global markets like the United States and China is that of conflict.
“The conflict between uncomfortably elevated US inflation and gathering headwinds distilled down as markets warming to the idea of Fed hikes stepping down from 75 basis points to 50 basis points for (the) December FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee),” he said, noting that this has triggered an equity market rally since Friday.
“Our suspicion is that Fed pivot relief is overdone, if not premature,” he added.
In the region, the Nikkei 225 was up 1 per cent and ASX 200 rose 0.3 per cent. The Hang Seng Index, Kospi and KLCI were down about 0.1 per cent.
On the local bourse, Jardine Cycle & Carriage was the top gainer, rising 2.3 per cent to $31.21. The trio of lenders were also among the top gainers. DBS was up 1.1 per cent at $32.76, OCBC added 1.5 per cent to $11.70 while UOB gained 0.5 per cent to $26.13.
Sembcorp Marine was the most heavily traded counter for the day, with about 105.1 million shares changing hands. The counter closed flat at 11.9 cents.
Other actively traded counters were Geo Energy Resources, Biolidics and Singtel. THE BUSINESS TIMES
