Blue chips in play as STI falls 2.98%

SOME market watchers have started to bandy about predictions as wild as the Straits Times Index (STI) hitting 2,000 points in the near future so it is perhaps cold comfort to investors here that the local market is not so far gone yet.

But as a stunning rout in global equities drags on, local stocks have continued to touch fresh lows almost on a daily basis and Wednesday proved to be another tragic variation on the now-familiar semi-apocalyptic theme.

The Singapore stock market tumbled 3 per cent in the session, with the STI plummeting 78.7 points or 2.98 per cent to 2,559.77, its lowest level since dropping to 2,528.71 points on Oct 5, 2011 - more than four years ago. Though the STI had rallied on Tuesday, that temporary relief m…