SINGAPORE stocks opened lower on Friday (Dec 20), following another downbeat session on Wall Street as the US Federal Reserve’s hawkish pivot continued to weigh on sentiment.
The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 18.92 points or 0.5 per cent to 3,743.96 as at 9.01 am. Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 73 to 33, with 30.8 million securities worth S$49.9 million transacted.
Among the most heavily traded counters was Genting Singapore, with 3.3 million shares changing hands. The counter fell S$0.005 or 0.7 per cent to S$0.745.
Another stock that was actively traded was Seatrium. Its share price was unchanged at S$1.95.
The local banking counters were all in negative territory. DBS shed S$0.09 or 0.2 per cent to S$43.31, OCBC fell S$0.14 or 0.8 per cent to S$16.54, and UOB declined S$0.39 or 1.1 per cent to S$36.15.
Overnight, Wall Street stocks finished little changed as Treasury bond yields climbed further in the wake of a Federal Reserve decision that prompted deep selling in the prior session. The rebound in US indices in early trade lost steam as the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note rose above 4.5 per cent. The Fed on Wednesday lowered interest rates but signalled it expects fewer interest rate cuts in 2025.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose less than 0.04 per cent to 42,342.24. The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent to 5,867.08, on track for its worst week since September. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index also declined 0.1 per cent to 19,372.77.
Europe equities fell, with the benchmark Stoxx logging its biggest single-day drop since early November as investors fled riskier assets after the Fed’s more hawkish stance. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 1.5 per cent lower at 506.66, hitting a three-week low, with all the major sub-sectors in the red.
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