Singapore stocks took a hit on Thursday—STI down 0.9%

SINGAPORE: Singapore stocks took a hit on Thursday, stepping into negative territory in the wake of a retreat on Wall Street. The dip followed the release of US inflation data that surpassed expectations, crushing hopes for imminent rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.

The Business Times reported that the Straits Times Index (STI) stumbled down by 0.9% or 28.11 points to 3,209.41 as of 9:01 am. A quick glance across the broader market revealed a ratio of losers to gainers at 112 to 44 where 92.8 million securities worth a hefty S$123.7 million were traded.

Seatrium stole the show as the most active counter by volume, witnessing a 1.2% dip or S$0.001 to S$0.085 with 9.3 million shares traded. CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust wasn’t far behind, shedding 1.5% or S$0.03 to S$1.94, with 7.1 million units exchanged.

Meanwhile, Golden Agri-Resources took a different route, climbing 1.9% or S$0.005 to S$0.275, with 6.8 million shares traded.

Banking stocks weren’t spared in the morning hustle either. DBS saw a 0.6% drop or S$0.23 to S$35.56, UOB slid 1.1% or S$0.33 to S$29.29, and OCBC slipped 0.9% or S$0.13 to S$13.68.

On Wall Street, Wednesday’s closure painted a gloomy picture after much-anticipated data revealed US consumer prices climbing 0.4% in March from February, and 3.5% from the previous year, both surpassing expectations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average waved goodbye to 1.1%, closing at 38,461.51, while the broad-based S&P 500 dropped by 1% to 5,160.64. The tech-savvy Nasdaq Composite Index followed suit, sliding 0.8% to 16,170.36.

European shares rebounded on Wednesday as all eyes turned towards the European Central Bank’s monetary policy decision scheduled for Thursday. The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the day 0.1% higher, buoyed by gains in the banking and energy sectors. /TISG

Read also: Singapore shares rose on Tuesday—STI increased by 0.3%

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