Keppel was the top gainer on the index, rising 1.6%, while Mapletree Industrial Trust was the worst performer, falling 2.7%
[SINGAPORE] Singapore stocks ended lower on Thursday (Oct 30), amid mixed trading in the region.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) lost 0.1 per cent or 2.77 points to finish at 4,437.44. Meanwhile, the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index gained 0.1 per cent or 1.50 points to 1,461.48.
Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 365 to 249, after 1.7 billion securities worth S$1.7 billion changed hands.
Overnight, the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points.
Yet, the Federal Open Market Committee surprised with an unexpected hawkish restraint that sent US Treasury yields and US dollars higher, said Vishnu Varathan, head of macro research, Asia ex-Japan at Mizuho Securities.
“To be sure, the Fed is not alone in exercising forward-looking restraint on easing,” he said.
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“But interim pauses are more inconveniences than enduring impedance as latent downside risks linger.”
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump lowered tariffs on China after meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday.
Lorraine Tan, director of equity research (Asia) at Morningstar, said the trade truce between the US and China reduces risk premium in the near term, particularly in China shares, although it does not materially reduce long-term geopolitical risks.
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Key regional indices were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.2 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index inched 0.04 per cent higher, South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.1 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was up 0.2 per cent.
On the STI, Keppel was the top gainer, rising 1.6 per cent or S$0.16 to end at S$10.05.
The worst performer was Mapletree Industrial Trust, falling 2.7 per cent or S$0.06 to S$2.16.
The local banks ended mixed on Thursday. DBS rose 0.5 per cent or S$0.28 to S$53.98 and OCBC was up 1.1 per cent or S$0.19 at S$17.04, while UOB finished 0.5 per cent or S$0.18 lower at S$34.72.
