Singapore shares fall, dragged by banks; STI slips 0.6%

[SINGAPORE] Singapore stocks fell on Monday (Apr 27), weighed down by the trio of local lenders, which all closed lower.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) shed 0.6 per cent or 30.13 points to 4,892.73.

Hongkong Land led the gainers on the blue-chip barometer, rising 2.4 per cent or US$0.18 to US$7.84.

The index’s worst performer was Keppel , which dropped 5.2 per cent or S$0.60 to S$10.95 as it traded ex-dividend.

All three local banks ended the day in negative territory. DBS lost 0.2 per cent or S$0.11 to S$56.79; OCBC was down 0.5 per cent or S$0.11 at S$21.60; and UOB dropped 0.3 per cent or S$0.10 to S$35.90.

Across the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 341 to 265 after two billion securities worth S$1.9 billion changed hands.

Over on the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, Yanlord Land was the top gainer, rising 6 per cent or S$0.04 to S$0.71. China Aviation Oil was the index’s biggest decliner, falling 3.6 per cent or S$0.08 to S$2.15.

Regional markets were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.4 per cent, and South Korea’s Kospi gained 2.2 per cent. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI each edged down 0.2 per cent.

Fresh March industrial production data showed that Singapore’s factory output rose 10.1 per cent year on year, beating a Bloomberg consensus forecast of 6 per cent.

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OCBC chief economist Selena Ling said that while the latest print showing that output “remains resilient”, the “prolonged US-Iran war and the broadening of the oil supply shock to other sectors like global petrochemicals, airlines and logistics (are) beginning to take a toll on real economic activities”.