Singapore shares retreated on Wednesday morning, with the Straits Times Index (STI) falling 36 points, or 0.6%, to 5,718 and wiping out gains from the previous three sessions, as investors took profits after the benchmark notched a record high a day earlier. The STI had closed at 5,754 on Tuesday, supported by robust economic data following an upward revision of Q2 GDP growth to 5.9%.
The local market also mirrored an overnight decline on Wall Street, as a jump in oil prices stoked worries about inflation and reinforced expectations of an impending interest rate hike. Sentiment remained cautious ahead of the release of US inflation figures later in the day, with traders looking for guidance on the Federal Reserve’s policy stance at its upcoming meeting.
Fresh domestic data helped limit the downside, however, with Singapore’s current account surplus widening in Q2 from the same period in 2025. Sector-wise, communication services, technology, and financials were the main drags on the index. Among the notable laggards were Jardine Matheson Holdings (-2.2%), Jardine Cycle & Carriage (-1.0%), OCBC (-0.9%), and Hongkong Land Holdings (-0.8%).
