Singapore stocks fall amid cautious sentiment; STI down 0.1%

THE Straits Times Index (STI) slipped 0.1 per cent or 2.36 points to 3,133.78 on Thursday (Mar 7) amid cautious sentiment ahead of the US nonfarm payroll statistics.

Across the broader market, losers beat gainers 280 to 242, with 1.39 billion securities worth S$1 billion changing hands.

SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said that US futures remained relatively subdued and failed to gain momentum despite Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s less-hawkish stance overnight.

He added: “Perhaps Powell’s remarks aligned closely with the market’s pre-existing rate-cut expectations. Alternatively, traders might be holding off on assessing the implications of the upcoming monthly jobs report before making significant moves, as we are still very much in data-dependent mode.”

Across the region, major markets were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 1.2 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.3 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index climbed 0.2 per cent.

The top gainer on the STI was Yangzijiang Shipbuilding. It rose 4.5 per cent or S$0.08 to S$1.86.

Singtel also posted a strong showing, gaining 1.3 per cent or S$0.03 to S$2.37. The telco announced on Thursday that it expects to post a net gain of S$700 million from a sale of 0.8 per cent of its direct stake in Airtel.

Meanwhile, Jardine Cycle & Carriage came in at the bottom of the table. It fell 3.2 per cent or S$0.79 to S$24.03.

The trio of local banks ended mixed. DBS gained 0.6 per cent or S$0.19 to S$33.78, while UOB rose 0.2 per cent or S$0.05 to S$28.30.

On the other hand, OCBC fell 0.8 per cent or S$0.11 to S$13.08.