Singapore stocks end down 0.43 pct

Singapore shares closed 0.43 percent lower on Thursday, as uncertainty over interest rate outlook weighed on the market sentiment after the U.S. Federal Reserve took no action overnight.

In its statement issued after its meeting on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday but kept the door open to a hike this year while showing little sign it was in a hurry to tighten.

The market sentiment was dampened further by the Bank of Japan's decision on Thursday to keep its monetary policies on hold.

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index fell 12.42 points to 2,862.30 points. Trading volume was 1.39 billion shares worth 1.06 billion Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 206 to 186, while 520 stocks did not move.

CapitaLand shed 0.6 percent to 3.15 Singapore dollars. The developer said its luxury serviced residences unit, The Ascott, has signed a deal to buy a property in Islington, London. The Ascott is buying the property through its serviced residence global fund with Qatar Investment Authority, and the property will be named Citadines Islington London. The property is the 600 million U.S. dollar fund's third investment, five months after its maiden acquisition of two properties in Paris and Tokyo.

SembCorp Marine rose 0.9 percent to 1.685 Singapore dollars. It reported a 48.2 percent decline in earnings to 54.8 million Singapore dollars for first quarter. Its revenue fell 29.6 percent to 918.4 million Singapore dollars on the back of lower revenue recognition for rig building projects from customer deferment requests and customer restructuring.

Among the top gainers, Raffles Medical Group rose 2.6 percent to 4.70 Singapore dollars, whereas Jardine Cycle and Carriage became one of the top losers by falling 1.9 percent to 40.24 Singapore dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.34 Singapore dollars) Enditem