STI retreats again, down 1.4%

WALL Street may have rebounded sharply on Monday after seven successive days of losses but there was no impact here, as the Straits Times Index (STI) melted 43.6 points or 1.4 per cent to end at 3,153.06 led by falls in the banks and Singtel. Weakness in China and anticipation of a Tuesday blowout in the United States were the likely reasons for the pressure that came in relatively heavy volume of two billion units worth S$1.9 billion. Excluding warrants there were 161 rises versus 296 falls.

Brokers said volatility in China and expectations that US rates would be raised sooner rather than later were probably the main reasons for the selli…