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STOCKS here fell yesterday as investors turned cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve board's monetary policy statement at the end of its two-day meeting that began on Tuesday.
The Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at current low levels, but its post-meeting statement could provide clues on its view of the US economy and how rapid any recovery will be.
Locally, the Straits Times Index ended 25.99 points or 1 per cent lower at 2,571.31, after falling as much as 1.3 per cent earlier, giving up some of the gains made on Tuesday.
Of the STI's 30 component stocks, 19 fell while eight rose and three ended unchanged.
DBS Group was the biggest index mover, ending 2.3 per cent lower at $12.62 and dragging the STI down 6.1 points.
Rivals United Overseas Bank and OCBC Bank also fell. UOB slid 1.2 per cent to $16.40 while OCBC ended 0.4 per cent lower at $7.67.
Other stocks weighing the index down were SingTel, which fell 1.5 per cent to $3.18, and property developer CapitaLand, which finished 2.9 per cent down at $3.64.
The biggest percentage loser among STI members was shipping group Cosco Corp, which slid 3.9 per cent to $1.23.
Other index members that saw large declines yesterday were Singapore conglomerate Sembcorp Industries, which fell 3.7 per cent to $3.38, and Jardine Cycle & Carriage - owner of major car distribution businesses in the region - which slid 3.4 per cent to $23.72.
Gaming firm Genting Singapore bucked the trend, rising for the second straight day this week in heavy trading. It ended 3.5 per cent higher at 89.5 cents, with 200.5 million shares changing hands - the most heavily traded counter in the overall market.
Outside the STI, Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (A-Reit) fell 5.1 per cent to end at $1.67 after it completed a $302 million private placement of 185 million new units at $1.63 each. A-Reit said the money will be used to fund existing projects and to buy more properties.
In the overall market, losing counters outnumbered gainers 293-126 with 448 unchanged, excluding warrants and bonds, whose prices sometimes move in the opposite direction of a company's share price.
The FTSE ST All-Share index, which tracks 263 of the most liquid stocks here, slid 1.1 per cent, with 145 of its members falling and 41 rising.
Twelve of the 13 FTSE ST industry sector indices fell. The technology index, which tracks 15 tech stocks including CSE Global and Creative Technology, was the only one that gained, finishing 0.3 per cent higher.
The FTSE ST China index, which tracks China stocks listed here, slid 2.1 per cent, with 28 of its 51 members falling.
After its 48 per cent surge on its trading debut on Tuesday, Catalist-listed Mary Chia Holdings, which operates beauty and slimming centres in Singapore and Malaysia, ended unchanged at 34 cents yesterday. The FTSE ST Catalist Index that tracks stocks listed on the junior board fell 0.9 per cent.
Trading volume in the overall market was higher than on Tuesday, but worth less. Some 2.33 billion units worth $1.89 billion changed hands, compared with 2.15 billion units worth $2 billion on Tuesday, excluding shares traded in foreign currencies.
Elsewhere in the region, most major equity indices also fell, reversing gains earlier in the week. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped 3 per cent to 20,435.24, while Japan's Nikkei-225 index ended 1.4 per cent lower at 10,435.
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