Banks lead STI fall amid Asian sell-offs

RED streaks washed over most Asian equities at closing on Monday as geopolitical risk sentiments soared following North Korea's nuclear test on Sunday that shook the region.

Adding on to investors' fears was Monday's news that South Korea's defence ministry has detected signs that the North is preparing a missile launch, following Sunday's test.

CMC Markets Singapore's analyst Margaret Yang wrote in a note on Monday: "The local shares market is lacking fresh catalysts after second-quarter earnings. Therefore, external factors such as US economic data, geopolitical issues and crude oil prices are going to dominate the movements in local share markets in the short term. Technically, the Straits Times Index (STI) is trading in a consolidation phase, with its immediate support and resistance levels at 3,240 and 3,300 points respectively."