[SINGAPORE] Local stocks ended Friday (Mar 14) muted despite a majority of the region finishing higher.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) closed almost flat, down 1.5 points at 3,836.02.
Across the broader market, advancers beat decliners 338 to 207, with 1.2 billion securities worth S$1.3 billion changing hands.
Regional indices were largely higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.7 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index shot up 2.1 per cent and the Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index increased 0.1 per cent. However, South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index declined 0.3 per cent.
These moves come after Wall Street indices fell overnight on US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats against the European Union.
In a note on Friday, Eastspring chief investment officer Vis Nayar and chief economist Ray Farris said Trump’s rhetoric indicates “significant and broad tariffs” despite stock market weakness, which could drag US gross domestic product growth.
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“For markets, this implies continued US equity underperformance, particularly relative to countries where policy is turning expansionary to offset the impact of tariffs,” they said, adding that the Federal Reserve is “likely to be slow to respond” to weaker US growth as tariffs could be inflationary.
Back home, energy and urban solutions provider Sembcorp Industries was the biggest loser on the STI, falling 2.1 per cent or S$0.13 to S$5.96, after a deal inked by one of its subsidiaries to import natural gas from Indonesia fell through.
The index was led by agribusiness Wilmar International, which added 1.9 per cent or S$0.06 to S$3.30.
Among the local lenders, DBS rose 0.3 per cent or S$0.15 to S$44.25, but its banking peers UOB and OCBC fell. UOB was down 0.5 per cent or S$0.17 at S$36.71, while OCBC slid 0.2 per cent or S$0.03 to S$16.48.
