Singapore stocks decline for third consecutive day; STI down 0.9%

SINGAPORE stocks fell for a third consecutive day, with the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) declining 0.9 per cent or 28.13 points on Tuesday to 2,945.52.

The losses tracked a broader decline across Asia, where major regional indices also ended Tuesday in the red.

Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at Axi, said uncertainty of timing of fiscal stimulus in the US and prospects of further lockdowns in Europe were among factors that were adding to market uncertainty.

Of the 30 STI counters, 25 registered declines on Tuesday, with four managing gains. One counter, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, finished unchanged.

At the bottom of the table was CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, which fell 4 per cent or S$0.09 to S$2.16. Last Thursday, the real estate investment trust posted a distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.63 Singapore cents for its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, down 15.4 per cent from 3.11 cents a year ago.

The top gainer on the index was Keppel DC Reit, which climbed 1.4 per cent to S$2.89. Other gainers included Thai Beverage, Jardine Matheson Holdings and Jardine Strategic Holdings.

Decliners outnumbered advancers on the broader market at 339 to 163, with 3.75 billion securities worth S$1.6 billion changing hands.

Shares of Biolidics were up 4.8 per cent or 1.5 Singapore cents on Tuesday to 33 cents. The medtech firm on Monday launched a Covid-19 antigen test kit which can be marketed and sold in the European Union.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell one per cent, to 28,546.18, while the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.5 per cent to 3,569.43. Also in the red was the Kospi in South Korea, which declined 2.1 per cent to 3,140.31.