Weak oil, slide in Dow futures hit STI

Following losses in Japan and Hong Kong, index finishes 34.43 points lower, with banks and Singtel leading the selling

Published Tue, Apr 5, 2016 · 09:50 PM

A 130-point loss for the June Dow futures, a 2.4 per cent loss for the Nikkei 225 and a 1.6 per cent slide in the Hang Seng Index: Faced with nothing but weakness in these markets, the Straits Times Index (STI) stood little chance, finishing Tuesday with a loss of 34.43 points at 2,800.92.

The selling was led by the three banks and Singtel, and resulted in the overall market recording an advance-decline score of 137-266, excluding warrants.Volume traded by the 30 STI components amounted to S$807 million, which was nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of the entire market's turnover of 1.2 billion units worth S$1.1 billion.

Observers pointed the finger at weakness in the oil market as the possible trigger for fresh waves of short-selling; in overnight trading, oil fell by just over 3 per cent to around US$35 per barrel.

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