SINGAPORE – Investors have been struggling to find any direction this week and it was no exception on May 9, with bourses turning in mixed results amid the uncertainty.

The shifting mood here did turn positive enough to send the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) inching up 1.42 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 3,265.95. Trading volumes were on the modest side, with gainers outpacing losers 300 to 264 after 942.2 million securities worth $1.1 billion changed hands in the broader market.

There were mixed messages elsewhere, with Japan and South Korea ending in the red, while the Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng in Hong Kong closed higher.

Australian shares took a surprise dip after robust gains over the previous five days to end down 1.1 per cent.

Wall Street was also mixed overnight, although the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4 per cent for its sixth straight day of gains – its longest winning streak of the year.

The tech-focused Nasdaq fell 0.2 per cent while the S&P 500 dipped three-hundredths of a point, its smallest move since 2018.

Analysts believe the positive effects of robust earnings reports in the US are wearing off, swinging investor concerns back to interest rates.

Ms Charu Chanana, head of FX strategy at Saxo, did note that disappointing revenue guidance from US chip designer Arm was having a ripple effect on other chipmaker stocks.

Semiconductor company AEM saw heavy losses on the local bourse, falling 12.9 per cent to $2.02. It reported on May 8 that first-quarter earnings had plunged 85 per cent.

UOB led the STI gainers, climbing 1.6 per cent to $30.35. OCBC Bank was up 1.2 per cent, but DBS Bank, which was trading ex-dividend, fell 1.2 per cent to $35.28.

Wilmar International was the STI’s top decliner, slipping 1.2 per cent to $3.17.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was among the most active, with 25.4 million shares done. The counter rose 0.6 per cent to $1.72. THE BUSINESS TIMES