SINGAPORE – Wall Street stocks were largely up overnight on the back of softer inflation figures in the United States, but that did nothing to steady jittery investors here.

The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.4 per cent or 12.74 points to 3,229.55 with losers outnumbering gainers 287 to 246 on trade of 1.5 billion shares worth $1 billion.

Mr Kelvin Wong, Asia-Pacific senior market analyst at Oanda, noted that the latest US inflation data has raised expectations that the Federal Reserve will pause its funds rate at 5 to 5.25 per cent.

The headline US consumer price index has continued to slow further – hitting 4.9 per cent in April from 5 per cent in March.

But Mr Wong noted that the index may make an uptick in the coming months, given the heightened risk of an increase in global food prices.

“We cannot rule out that too much optimism is being priced at this juncture in advocating for an interest rate-cutting Fed pivot in the second half of 2023,” he said.

Regional indexes were mixed at the close. The Hang Seng Index slipped 0.1 per cent, the Kospi Composite fell 0.2 per cent and the Bursa Malaysia fell 0.04 per cent.

Australian stocks recorded their third consecutive fall, down a modest 0.1 per cent after hitting a three-day low in the session.

Tokyo bucked the trend as the Nikkei 225 inched up 0.02 per cent.

The results followed the mixed day on Wall Street after the improved inflation numbers. The S&P 500 added 0.4 per cent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 1 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1 per cent.

The top gainer on the STI was Genting Singapore, which rose 1.8 per cent to $1.12, while the top decliner was Frasers Logistics and Commercial Trust, down 3 per cent to $1.28.

The local banks all ended lower: DBS fell 1.7 per cent to $31.10; OCBC lost 0.2 per cent to $12.30; and UOB declined 0.5 per cent to $27.98. THE BUSINESS TIMES