Singapore's benchmark FTSE Straits Times Index closed 0.6% lower at 3226.86, tracking broad declines among Asian equities amid fears of aggressive tightening following Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's hawkish remarks.
"While we're quite confident that last year's elevated inflation peak won't be exceeded, the possibility of inflation remaining stickier for longer does suggest that the Fed will have to keep hiking rates for longer than previously thought," Rick Rieder, BlackRock's chief investment officer of global fixed income, says in a note.
DBS slipped 0.4%, OCBC dropped 1.0% and UOB edged up 0.1%. Among consumer stocks, DFI Retail fell 6.7%, Thai Beverage declined 2.3% and Olam slipped 0.6%.
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