Earnings season, US vote weigh on stocks

FEARS over the outcome of the upcoming presidential election in the United States, combined with yet another uninspiring season of corporate earnings, weighed down the Singapore share market on Wednesday, though the session was enlivened by talk of a takeover bid for Global Logistic Properties (GLP).

Local stocks ended 0.2 per cent lower, with the blue-chip Straits Times Index shedding 6.55 points to 2,807.14. The blue-chip index retreated after polls in the United States suggested that the US presidential election next week may be a closer race than investors might like.

About 1.31 billion shares worth S$1 billion in total changed hands, which worked out to an average unit price of S$0.76 per share - neither here nor there.