Oil fall, "Grexit'' fears send prices tumbling

A STEEP plunge on Wall Street on Monday that was attributed to sliding oil prices and political uncertainty in Greece meant that the Straits Times Index, which on Monday had already plunged 42 points, lost a further 46.33 points or 1.4 per cent on Tuesday at 3,281.95. Turnover amounted to 1.4 billion units worth S$1.24 billion, an improvement over Monday's S$845 million; and excluding warrants, the advance-decline score was 126 to 286.

"Not a good start to the New Year" was a remark made by many dealers, who risked stating the obvious but were nonetheless correct in their appraisal of current conditions. The banking sector took another hit on Tuesday, led by UOB which plunged S$0.64 or 2.7 per cent to S$23.32 on volume of 4.9 million, while oil-related stocks like Keppel Corp and Sembcorp Marine also dropped sharply.

Apart from oil's weakness, Greece has emerged as another market worry. The country is due to hold elections in a few weeks' time and worries that it may exit the eurozone - known as a possible "Grexit" - have resurfaced.