Singapore stocks track regional declines on Thursday; STI down 0.4%

Across the broader market, losers beat gainers 280 to 264, as 1.8 billion securities worth S$1.5 billion change hands

Local shares ended Thursday (Sep 25) lower, mirroring declines across the region.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) shed 0.4 per cent or 16.54 points to close at 4,273.86. Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 280 to 264, after 1.8 billion securities worth S$1.5 billion changed hands.

Most key indices in the region ended lower. The Hang Seng slid 0.1 per cent, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down 0.1 per cent, andthe Kospi Composite Index inched down 0.03 per cent. The Nikkei 225 bucked the trend with a 0.3 per cent gain.

Wall Street stocks also declined overnight. Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said that traders were unsettled by the “twin shadows” of US Federal Reserve policy uncertainty and artificial intelligence (AI) fatigue.

He added that Fed chair Jerome Powell’s remarks that equities were “fairly highly valued” was not intended as a warning, but it landed that way. “For traders already stretched and leaning hard into risk, it sounded like the faint whistle of an official preparing to call time on overexuberance.”

Meanwhile, markets are grappling with the question of “whether the economics of AI can live up to (its) narrative without cannibalising the very companies” that fund it, Innes said.

SEE ALSO

On the STI, Hongkong Land was the top decliner. It fell 3.4 per cent or US$0.22 to US$6.30.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was the top blue-chip gainer, rising 0.9 per cent or S$0.03 to S$3.32.

The local banks all ended lower. DBS lost 0.1 per cent to finish at S$50.27, OCBC fell 0.6 per cent or S$0.10 to S$16.26, and UOB was down 0.1 per cent or S$0.05 at S$34.36.