SINGAPORE stocks closed lower on Wednesday (May 8), with banking stocks among the decliners, as investor sentiment across the region remained cautious.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 1.1 per cent or 35.51 points to close at 3,264.53.
Elsewhere in the region, most markets ended lower, with key indices in Japan, Hong Kong and Shanghai slipping between 0.6 and 1.6 per cent. However, the ASX 200 in Australia and South Korea’s Kospi bucked the trend, climbing 0.1 and 0.4 per cent, respectively.
“Profit-taking and position-trimming ahead of next week’s (US) inflation data may be contributing to the subdued market mood,” said Stephen Innes from SPI Asset Management. He noted that traders were also cautious following a subdued close on Wall Street overnight.
On the local bourse, banks contributed to the STI’s weakness, with OCBC : O39 0%, UOB : U11 0%and DBS : D05 0%all closing in the red.
OCBC, which was trading ex-dividend, was the top decliner, slipping 3.6 per cent to S$13.75. Meanwhile, UOB, which reported a 1.6 per cent year-on-year decline in first-quarter net profit on Wednesday, fell 2.2 per cent to S$29.88, while DBS shares closed 0.6 per cent lower at S$35.71.
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Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 320 to 253 after one billion securities worth S$1.3 billion changed hands.
Genting Singapore : G13 0% was the most actively traded stock by volume, with some 41.5 million shares worth S$36.3 million transacted. The counter fell 1.1 per cent to close at S$0.875.
Meanwhile, Venture Corporation : V03 0%, which had underperformed earlier this week, was the top STI gainer on Wednesday, climbing 2.8 per cent to close at S$13.80. Other top performers for the day included Sats : S58 0%, which rose 1.2 per cent, and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust : C38U 0%, which was up 1 per cent.
