Banks' price retreat pulls down STI

THE three Singapore banks have propped up the Straits Times Index (STI) and ensured its outperformance in the past fortnight as other markets tanked in the wake of sliding oil prices. So it was perhaps only to be expected that a collapse in the banks on Tuesday sent the index reeling by 79.05 points or 2.4 per cent to 3,215.09.

Turnover was a relatively heavy 1.2 billion units worth S$1.45 billion, of which S$522 million or 36 per cent was done in the 30 STI stocks. The value of business done i…