SINGAPORE – Another session of record-setting exuberance on Wall Street overnight cut little ice with Singapore investors on March 22.

The buoyant mood of Thursday was replaced by a wary stance that left the Straits Times Index (STI) down 0.07 per cent or 2.4 points to 3,217.97, although it did end 1.4 per cent ahead for the week.

Trade was still relatively frothy with 1.5 billion shares worth $1 billion done but losers ruled the day, outpacing gainers 301 to 250.

DBS Bank was the one banking stock that rose, advancing 0.5 per cent to $35.83 while OCBC Bank declined 0.3 per cent to $13.60 and UOB fell 0.5 per cent to $29.07.

The local banks’ earnings momentum is set to lose steam this year amid rising funding costs and a drag from possible rate cuts, noted S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Mr Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said the United States economic data released on March 21 bolstered the argument that the Federal Reserve may need to reconsider its forecasts for interest rate cuts.

“Just a day after the central bank signalled three 25-basis-point cuts in 2024, housing, manufacturing and labour market data indicated a resilient economy,” he said. “This could lead the Fed to implement rate cuts slower than the market anticipates.”

Those sentiments were not in evidence on Wall Street overnight, where all three key indexes rose to new records, driven by strong belief that rates are indeed heading down.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.7 per cent, the S&P 500 put on 0.3 per cent to another record close and the tech-heavy Nasdaq nudged ahead 0.2 per cent.

Regional bourses reflected the caution in Singapore and were mostly down. South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.23 per cent, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 2.1 per cent and Australian shares lost 0.2 per cent after energy and mining stocks took a hit. The Nikkei in Tokyo bucked the trend, adding 0.2 per cent. THE BUSINESS TIMES