Across the broader market, losers beat gainers 320 to 205, after 1.5 billion securities worth S$1.4 billion change hands
SINGAPORE stocks ended Thursday (Feb 20) lower, as markets reacted to the Federal Reserve’s January meeting minutes.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.2 per cent or 6.53 points to 3,927.51.
Across the broader market, losers beat gainers 320 to 205, with 1.5 billion securities worth S$1.4 billion changing hands.
The Fed minutes released on Wednesday showed that policymakers believe potential changes in trade and immigration policy could hinder disinflation, implying interest rates might not be cut.
IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong said that US President Donald Trump’s policies “no doubt added complexity to the Fed’s balancing act between inflation and employment”.
“That said, with market expectations already well-aligned for a rate hold over the next two Federal Open Market Committee meetings, the minutes served more as confirmation of existing sentiment,” he noted.
Key indices in the Asia-Pacific closed in the red. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.6 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.2 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index lost 0.7 per cent, and the Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index slipped 0.2 per cent.
Back home, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding extended gains to finish top of the STI, adding 3.1 per cent or S$0.10 to S$3.30. The biggest loser among the constituents was Seatrium, which shed 2 per cent or S$0.05 to S$2.50.
The three local banks ended mixed. OCBC slipped 0.7 per cent or S$0.13 to S$17.72, UOB fell 0.4 per cent or S$0.15 to S$38.43, while DBS edged up 0.1 per cent or S$0.04 to S$46.08.
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