Singapore stocks fall as Trump tariffs resume for now; STI retreats 0.6%
[SINGAPORE] Local equities ended Friday (May 30) lower, after an appeals court in the United States paused a ruling that blocked President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs.
The benchmark Straits Times Index declined 0.6 per cent or 22.23 points to 3,894.6.
Across the broader market, decliners beat gainers 248 to 209, as 1.3 billion securities worth S$3.3 billion changed hands.
Singapore Exchange market strategist Geoff Howie said: 'The session ended with a bout of S$2.23 billion of institutional rebalancing related to the MSCI Quarterly Index Review on the close.
'Supporting the high turnover on the close, Singapore-listed stocks have both increased their weightage and comparative trading turnover within the MSCI Asia Ex-Japan Index since the end of 2024.'
The US appeals court on Thursday paused a ruling from the Court of International Trade, which found that Trump did not have the authority to impose the 'Liberation Day' tariffs.
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Ipek Ozkardeskaya, analyst at Swissquote Bank, said the early trade optimism triggered by the US Court of International Trade's ruling 'turned out too good to be true' as the ruling is now effectively on hold.
'If tariffs are ultimately found to be unlawful, the willingness of partners to make concessions during trade talks may shrink – not exactly ideal, especially given the critical window for negotiations,' she said.
Regional indices reacted negatively to the news. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 1.2 per cent. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.8 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei 225 declined 1.2 per cent. The Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index decreased 0.7 per cent.
In Singapore, the STI was led by pan-Asian retailer DFI Retail Group , which added 3 per cent or US$0.08 to US$2.76. After the market closed, the group announced it will be divesting a 22.2 per cent stake in department store operator Robinsons Retail.
The index was dragged by DFI's parent company Jardine Matheson , which declined 2.4 per cent or US$1.10 to US$44.50.
This comes after the group on Thursday announced that its chief executive John Witt is retiring from the company at the end of November, with Lincoln Pan to take on the role of CEO-designate.
The trio of local banks were in the red on Friday. DBS fell 0.6 per cent or S$0.27 to S$44.72, UOB declined 1.2 per cent or S$0.43 to S$35.41 and OCBC retreated 1 per cent or S$0.16 to S$16.23.
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