SINGAPORE shares were in the red on Tuesday (Jan 14), amid a mixed regional showing.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) declined 0.1 per cent or 2.93 points to 3,788.77.
The STI was led by maritime vessel maker Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, which rose 4.1 per cent or S$0.12 to S$3.07. It was one of the most actively traded counters on Tuesday, with 23.6 million shares worth S$71.7 million changing hands.
Another stock that was briskly traded was integrated resort operator Genting Singapore, which gained 0.7 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.735, with 25.8 million securities worth S$19 million trading across the day.
Retailer DFI Retail Group was at the bottom of the index, as it retreated 1.8 per cent or US$0.04 to US$2.24.
Two of the three banking stocks ended lower. DBS fell 0.4 per cent or S$0.17 to S$43.90, while OCBC lost 0.3 per cent or S$0.05 to S$16.92. UOB gained 0.5 per cent or S$0.17 to S$36.97.
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Across the broader market, advancers beat decliners 278 to 226, with 938.1 million securities worth S$994.3 million traded.
Outside the index, First Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) closed 3.9 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$0.265. This followed the Reit’s announcement on Monday that it received a preliminary non-binding letter of intent from Siloam International Hospitals to acquire its portfolio of Indonesian hospital assets.
Meanwhile, regional markets were varied. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.8 per cent; South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index gained 0.3 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.8 per cent, and the Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index declined 0.6 per cent.
These market movements come after the release of US December jobs data on Friday, which showed that the economy added 256,000 jobs in the final month of 2024.
The figures “strongly beat expectations” and showed that the US is headed for a “soft landing rather than recession in 2025”, said Mansoor Mohi-uddin, chief economist, Bank of Singapore.
“We thus continue to think the Fed is near the end of its easing cycle, given firm growth and inflation,” he said in a note on Monday. Bank of Singapore forecasts only one further 25 basis points rate cut in the first half of 2025.
