STI retreats on HK, Dow futures weakness

HAVING bounced 245 points in just eight trading sessions, the Straits Times Index (STI) on Tuesday dropped 47.23 points or 1.6 per cent to 2,984.88 in line with weakness in Hong Kong and the Dow futures. Turnover dropped from 1.8 billion units worth S$1.4 billion on Monday to 1.3 billion units worth S$1.1 billion though the proportion contributed by trading in the 30 index members at 77 per cent was higher than Monday's 71 per cent.

The selling in Hong Kong that dragged the Hang Seng 0.6 per cent down came after release of China trade data that was widely interpreted as being weak. Europe then opened in the red in the afternoon and at 5pm, the Dow futures had lost about 90 points, pointing to a weak Tuesday for Wall Street.

Among the top trading volumes was STI component Genting Singapore, which slid S$0.03 to S$0.78 after 31.3 million shares changed hands. Deutsche Bank (DB) initiated coverage of Genting on Oct 12 with a "sell" and target price of S$0.50.