Singapore stocks slide amid sea of red across Asia markets; STI down 1.4%

SINGAPORE shares fell on Wednesday (Nov 8), tracking a broader decline across most markets in the region.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) lost 1.4 per cent or 44.09 points to close at 3,129.72.

Shares of Singtel led the index decliners, dropping 4.8 per cent or S$0.12 to S$2.36. Its Australian subsidiary Optus was hit by a major outage earlier on Wednesday.

Sembcorp Industries , Yangzijiang Shipbuilding , ST Engineering and Keppel Corp were also among the top decliners, falling more than 2 per cent each.

Just two STI counters ended the day positive. Singapore Airlines rose 0.6 per cent or S$0.04 to S$6.28; UOL gained 1.3 per cent or S$0.08 to S$6.13, ending at the top of the index performance table.

Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 332 to 275, after 1.4 billion securities worth S$1.2 billion were traded.

Shares of Seatrium were the most actively traded by volume, with 315 million shares worth S$34.9 million changing hands.

The counter fell 3.5 per cent or S$0.004 to S$0.109 after announcing on Wednesday that it expects to incur a net loss for FY2023, despite improving operational and financial performance.

Elsewhere, key indices in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Shanghai ended the day in the red, slipping between 0.2 per cent and 0.9 per cent.

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The ASX 200 in Australia bucked the regional trend, climbing 0.3 per cent.

Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, noted that Asian markets were potentially dragged down by “ostensibly weaker” trade data from China, which highlighted “persistent external challenges for Asian economic growth”.