Earnings gloom weighs on blue chips

APPLE executives may have popped the bubbly after the stock reached the trillion-dollar valuation milestone, but Wall Street's overnight tech-led glee did not lift the earnings-inspired gloom in Singapore.

The Straits Times Index (STI) retreated by 20.59 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 3,265.73 - despite crossing 3,300 in an early morning spike - as blue chips hit choppy waters in quarterly results. The benchmark index has shed 1.78 per cent on the week.

Across the board, losers beat gainers 259 to 141, as 1.73 billion shares changed hands for S$1.08 billion.