Singapore market feels the jab on Boxing Day

SINGAPORE equities were dealt with a heavy blow on Wednesday as markets reopened following a Christmas Eve sell-off on Wall Street.

"In addition to concerns towards the US economy, the markets are now having to grapple with growing turmoil in the White House which has raised political risk ahead of the year-end," senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management, Masahiro Ichikawa told Reuters.

Indeed, the US stock market is now on track for its worst December since the Great Depression as US President Donald Trump continues to berate the Federal Reserve, and investors remain unnerved by political developments including a US federal government shutdown and Mr Trump's hostile stance towards Fed chairman, Jerome Powell, whom he appointed.