Singapore stocks rise ahead of expected interest rate cuts; STI hits new 52-week high
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The local benchmark Straits Times Index gained 0.2 per cent or 7.78 points to a 52-week high of 3,570.43.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Yong Jun Yuan
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SINGAPORE - Singapore stocks rose on Sept 16, ahead of widespread anticipation that an interest rate cut will be announced by the US Federal Reserve on Sept 18.
The local benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.2 per cent or 7.78 points to a 52-week high of 3,570.43.
On the broader market, gainers beat losers 301 to 225 after 987 million securities worth $1 billion changed hands.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said that investors will be trying to decipher “whether the recent economic data suggests the economy is cooling down to a manageable pace or whether it’s the first signs of a deeper, darker slowdown”.
“Stock traders are betting on a soft landing, while bond traders, eyeing 250 basis points of cuts, are braced for a full-blown recession,” he said.
Meanwhile, he noted, China has also continued to post disappointing economic data that could weigh on sentiment.
Chinese data released on Sept 14 showed that the nation’s retail sales, industrial production and urban investment were slower than expected.
Several regional bourses were closed on Sept 16 with the Tokyo, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Seoul stock markets observing market holidays. Both Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and Australia’s ASX 200 closed up 0.3 per cent.
On the STI, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust was the top gainer, rising 2.1 per cent to $1.48.
ST Engineering was at the bottom of the table. It fell 1.1 per cent to $4.62.
The trio of local banks ended mixed. DBS Bank rose 0.2 per cent to $38, while OCBC Bank shed 0.3 per cent to $15.23 and UOB dropped 0.5 per cent to $32.28. THE BUSINESS TIMES
