Singapore market slides, in line with region

SINGAPORE stocks continued to slide on Tuesday, with losses led by banks, telco Singtel and a handful of property plays.

The Straits Times Index (STI) shed 22.23 points or 0.62 per cent for the second straight session to finish at 3,540.23, with 1.4 billion shares worth S$1.3 billion changing hands.

Its performance was in line with the region. Across markets, the Jakarta Composite Index had the worst showing in Asia-Pacific, sinking 1.8 per cent on Tuesday and taking its retreat to 8.1 per cent for the year, overtaking the Philippines in the race to the bottom after a series of attacks in recent days shattered confidence among equity investors, Bloomberg reported.

On Singapore's bourse too, stocks with Indonesia-sourced revenues or assets in Indonesia also suffered. Plantation firms First Resources and Bumitama Agri, Indonesian property owners Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust and Sinarmas Land, oil and gas company RH Petrogas and water treatment firm Moya Asia all finished the trading day lower.

Eli Lee, head of investment strategy at Bank of Singapore, said: "Global equities fluctuated between losses and gains on Tuesday after clocking in a three-day rally as investors weighed persistent concerns of rising rates, Middle East tensions and trade frictions."

He added that the cautious mood was also set by the bond market earlier, which slipped into risk-off territory with a Q1 gross domestic product growth reading in Germany that was below expectations as well as a hawkish rhetoric from an European Central Bank policymaker, and the US 10-year yields rising above the 3 per cent level again as investors sold sovereign bonds.

In Asia, China's industrial output rose 7 per cent in April from a year earlier, exceeding forecasts, though slowing investment signalled a moderation in the coming months.

Mr Lee said: "The latest round of economic data from China showed that growth momentum is broadly intact, with inflation and the credit situation under control. The more pressing worry is how China will resolve its trade spat with the US. Despite positive soundbites from the White House regarding ZTE recently, we remain cautious that the two sides remain miles apart in their demands."

The technology firm recently found itself at the centre of what CNN calls "a multi-layered drama" of tense trade sentiment between two economic superpowers as President Donald Trump on Monday defended his decision to revisit penalties for ZTE for flouting US sanctions on trade with Iran, saying the telecom maker is a big buyer for US suppliers.

Locally, DBS fell the most of the three Singapore banks at 1.2 per cent to S$28.88 after Bloomberg ran an interview with chief executive officer Piyush Gupta discussing the bank's plans to expand its wealth management business, and the fact that the the rise of robots could put banking jobs at risk.

Singtel fell nine Singapore cents or 2.6 per cent to S$3.43 ahead of its May 17 results release, on market talk that robust profit growth at its Australia unit Optus probably could not offset declines at its domestic operations which is struggling with falling average revenue per user, and performance of Bharti Airtel, which remains a drag with its falling profits.

Meanwhile, Hutchison Port Holdings Trust fell 1.5 US cent or 4.4 per cent to US$0.325, and StarHub finished flat at S$2.14, after they were demoted from the MSCI Singapore Index to a small-cap gauge.

Venture Corp was added to the index, which may also explain its price appreciation in the past few days, though it lost nine Singapore cents or 0.4 per cent to finish at S$22.18 on Tuesday.

For full listings of SGX prices, go to http://btd.sg/BTmkts