Drop in tech, bank counters dampen market

A RETREAT in technology stocks and the local-bank trio dampened share prices in the Singapore bourse on Friday.

The key Straits Times Index (STI) fell 25.35 points or 0.7 per cent to finish at 3,573.38. Some 1.5 billion shares worth S$1.4 billion were traded, with losers outpacing gainers 271 to 144.

Semiconductor-related stocks fell most sharply, after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing - an Apple supplier and the largest contract chipmaker in the world - forecast weak smartphone demand in the second quarter. The news caused its stock to slump 6.3 per cent on Friday.