SINGAPORE shares dipped on Friday (Dec 15) in a surprise contrast to regional markets, which ended largely positive after the US Federal Reserve hinted at an end to its string of rate hikes.

The benchmark Straits Times Index fell 0.2 per cent, or 6.44 points, to 3,116.51. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 345 to 247, as 1.8 billion shares worth S$2.2 billion changed hands.

City Developments Ltd : C09 0% (CDL) and Great Eastern : G07 0% were the day’s biggest winners among blue-chip companies. CDL rose 4 per cent or S$0.26 to S$6.76, while Great Eastern gained 1.5 per cent or S$0.25 to S$17.50.

Seatrium : S51 0% also rose 1.9 per cent or S$0.002 to S$0.107 after 206.6 million shares were traded during the day, making it the most active counter by trading on Friday.

The trio of local banks, meanwhile, ended the day mixed. DBS : D05 0% fell 1.1 per cent or S$0.34 to S$31.06, and OCBC : O39 0% dipped 0.8 per cent, or S$0.10, to S$12.37. UOB : U11 0%, on the other hand, finished up 0.1 per cent or S$0.03 at S$27.82.

In Asia, major markets celebrated a rally as most major indices finished higher.

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The Hang Seng Index rose 2.4 per cent, the Nikkei 225 ticked up 0.9 per cent, the Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index edged up 0.5 per cent and the Kospi gained 0.8 per cent.

Yeap Jun Rong, market analyst at IG, observed that although the US stock market inched higher overnight, profit-taking took hold towards the latter half of the session on Thursday.

He noted that the US November retail sales also had a “significantly higher-than-expected read”, which signals a clear resilience among US consumers.

“Coupled with the Fed’s recent dovish rhetoric, the data is likely to feed further into soft-landing hopes,” he said.