Singapore shares rise as market eagerly awaits signals of interest rate cuts; STI up 0.3%

[SINGAPORE] Singapore shares rose on Thursday (Aug 21), as the market awaits for hints from US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell about the future of interest rates.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) closed 0.3 per cent or 11.36 points higher at 4,230.90.

Across the broader market, gainers beat losers 314 to 167 as 1.7 billion securities worth S$1.5 billion changed hands.

The top gainer on the STI was in-flight caterer Sats, which advanced 2.5 per cent or S$0.08 to S$3.26.

The trio of local banks ended the day mixed. DBS was up 1.2 per cent or S$0.60 at S$50.60, and UOB rose 0.3 per cent or S$0.09 to S$35.09. OCBC fell 0.1 per cent or S$0.02 to end at S$16.87.

The biggest loser on the index was DFI Retail Group, which slid 11 per cent or US$0.39 to US$3.16.

Across Asia, major indices were mixed. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.4 per cent and the Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 0.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.7 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.2 per cent.

Jose Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, said: “An acknowledgement from chair Powell at Jackson Hole that the central bank ought to resume its walk down the monetary policy stairs at its next meeting in September could shake the markets from their recent malaise.”

He added: “I believe 75 basis points of cuts from here would still place us in restrictive territory and is well justified.”