IT WAS a sea of red for Asia's key stock indices, and Singapore's Straits Times Index (STI) was not spared. The STI dropped 3.44 per cent or 96.36 points to 2,704.21 points on Thursday.

All but one out of the 30 STI constituents saw lower closing prices; the exception was The Business Times' publisher Singapore Press Holdings, shares of which rose one Singapore cent to S$1.36.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index fell 3.05 per cent to 5,960.64, snapping a seven-session winning streak. Japan's Nikkei 225 suffered its biggest one-day fall in six weeks, down 2.82 per cent to 22,472.91. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 2.27 per cent to 24,480.15, while China's Shanghai Composite index was 0.78 per cent lower at 2,920.90. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index was down 1.14 per cent to 1,557.25.