Singapore shares fall on Thursday; STI down 0.7%

[SINGAPORE] Singapore stocks ended lower on Thursday (Aug 27).

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) lost 0.7 per cent or 37.47 points to finish at 5,684.12.

Venture Corp led the gainers on Singapore’s blue-chip index, rising 1.7 per cent or S$0.28 to S$17.08.

The worst performer among STI constituents was Genting Singapore , which fell 2.3 per cent or S$0.015 to S$0.63, as it traded ex-dividend.

The local banks all ended lower. DBS lost 0.8 per cent or S$0.59 to S$75.65, OCBC fell 1.7 per cent or S$0.54 to S$30.90, and UOB was down 0.8 per cent or S$0.31 at S$40.64.

Within the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, PC Partner was the top gainer, rising 4 per cent or S$0.11 to S$2.89, while UltraGreen.ai was the biggest loser, falling 4.1 per cent or US$0.03 to US$0.705.

Across the broader market, losers beat gainers 246 to 229, after 1.1 billion securities worth S$1.6 billion changed hands.

Key regional indices were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.3 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.2 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 0.4 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi was up 1.5 per cent.

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, noted that the markets will be awaiting US Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech, which is due on Friday.

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“(Warsh) must convince investors that the Fed will remain independent, with the aim of bringing inflation back to 2 per cent while limiting the (effect) on the jobs market,” she said.

She noted that if Warsh is able to maintain the Fed’s credibility, then the US dollar will be able to see further gains.

“If not, the dollar will come under fresh selling pressure, probably giving precious metals and other hard commodities a further boost,” she added.

This article was written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a reporter