Singapore shares finish lower on Friday; STI down 0.7%
Yong Hui Ting
SINGAPORE shares ended the week on a slump, tracking regional losses in Asia-Pacific markets on Friday (Oct 20).
The Straits Times Index fell 0.7 per cent, or 22.91 points, to close at 3,076.69. Across the broader market, decliners beat gainers 341 to 256 as some 1.5 billion securities with a total value of S$1.1 billion were transacted.
Key markets in the region again ended in a pool of red at the day’s close, led by South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index, which fell 1.7 per cent to 2,375.00, followed by the ASX 200, which slipped 1.2 per cent to 6,900.70. The Hang Seng and the SSE Composite Index both shed 0.7 per cent to 17,172.13 and 2,983.06 respectively, while the Nikkei dropped 0.5 per cent to 31,259.36.
Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, noted that rising yields and heightened geopolitical tensions continued to weigh on market sentiments.
“Investors will be reluctant to take on stock market risk while opting for the safety of last resort hedges like the Vix (the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s CBOE Volatility Index), oil and gold,” he said.
The risk-averse sentiment in stock investing was also reflected in the Singapore market, as SPDR’s S&P 500 exchange traded fund was the top decliner of the day, having lost 1 per cent, or US$4.35, to US$426.15.
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Among index stocks, Capitaland Ascendas Reit was the top loser of the day. The real estate investment trust fell 2.8 per cent, or S$0.07 to S$2.48.
Keppel Corporation was the top gainer among STI constituents. It gained 1.3 per cent, or S$0.08 to S$6.33 on Friday’s close.
Seatrium, the most heavily traded counter on Friday, closed flat at S$0.117 after 415.2 million shares changed hands.
All three local banks finished in negative territory. DBS fell 0.3 per cent to S$33.08, UOB dipped 0.4 per cent to S$27.76 and OCBC shed 0.3 per cent to S$12.79.
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