Singapore shares suffer their worst rout since 2008; STI tumbles 7.5%

[SINGAPORE] All 30 constituents of the Straits Times Index (STI) closed down, as regional indices settled lower on Monday (Apr 7).

The STI declined 7.5 per cent or 285.36 points to 3,540.5 - its worst fall since 2008.

The trio of local banks settled lower. DBS fell 9.3 per cent or S$4.02 to close at S$39.28; OCBC declined 6.9 per cent or S$1.15 to S$15.47; UOB decreased 6.3 per cent or S$2.23 to S$33.23.

Marine stocks were the biggest losers on the benchmark index. The biggest loser was Seatrium , settling 14.4 per cent or S$0.28 lower at S$1.66. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding posted the second-largest fall, closing 11.5 per cent or S$0.25 lower at S$1.92.

Across the broader market, decliners outnumbered advancers 612 to 137, with 2.7 billion shares worth S$4.2 billion transacted.

Major regional indices fell, with the Kospi and the Nikkei 225 down 5.6 and 7.8 per cent, respectively. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 13.2 per cent and the KLCI decreased 4 per cent.

Wall Street is expected to see the bloodbath extend into this week, said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG.

He added that market volatility expressed by the Volatility Index has hit a peak since August 2024, as the S&P 500 looks set to join Nasdaq in bear territory in Monday’s futures trading.

US President Donald Trump’s tariff plans remain at the fore of the sell-off, with fresh market fears sparked by China’s tit-for-tat 34 per cent tariff on US goods, he said, noting that any hopes of a cautious response by China due to their prevailing domestic economic challenges has been dampened.

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“Eyes will now turn to the European Union for any countermeasures, with one finding it hard to conclude that the worst of the trade tensions has passed,” added Yeap.