SINGAPORE’S Straits Times Index was 0.3 per cent or 9.69 points higher at 3,313.35 points on Tuesday (May 14), against a mixed bag from regional bourses as market participants traded with caution before the United States’ release of its inflation figures mid-week.
The consumer price index and producer price index are anticipated to play a crucial role in shaping the outlook for Federal Reserve policy, contributing to the market’s cautious stance, said Stephen Innes, SPI Asset Management’s managing partner.
Investors are particularly sensitive to the inflation data, given its potential to influence interest-rate decisions and the broader market sentiment. Therefore, market participants are likely to tread carefully, awaiting clearer signals from the inflation figures before making significant moves, he pointed out.
This week’s data dump wags two significant tail risks: one tied to warmer inflation concerns and the other linked to slower economy activity, raising fears of stagflation. In either scenario, the market response could be unfavourable. Investors have thus remained cautious, as either outcome could trigger a broader stock market sell-off.
“You wouldn’t want to find yourself in a crowded index theatre with investors screaming about inflation or stagflation while dashing for the fire exits,” Innes quipped.
Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering) : S63 0% shares reached a 52-week high at S$4.20, up 4.2 per cent or S$0.17, a day after the group delivered an 18.1 per cent rise in revenue to S$2.7 billion, and bagged S$3 billion in new orders for the first quarter to March. The STI’s best performer’s financial performance was within the expectations of analysts.
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The shares of semiconductor equipment manufacturer UMS Holdings : 558 0% were down a further 4.5 per cent or S$0.05 to S$1.06, after having plunged 15.9 per cent on Monday on the back of its first-quarter net profit’s decline of 44 per cent to S$9.8 million.
Across the broader market, gainers beat decliners 357 to 225, with 1.21 billion of securities transacted at a total value of about S$1.2 billion.
