Singapore stocks decline on Friday’s open as export figures contract; STI down 0.4%

SINGAPORE shares declined on Friday (Dec 16) after the Republic’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) posted sharper-than- expected falls and major exchanges in the US and Europe posted their biggest daily percentage drop in weeks amid recession fears.

Key Singapore exports contracted 14.6 per cent on the year in November from a high year-ago base, which far outstripped the median 6.5 per cent decline forecast by private-sector economists in a Bloomberg poll.

The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.4 per cent or 13.65 points to 3,260.10 as at 9.02 am. Losers outnumbered gainers 88 to 38, after 45.7 million shares worth S$51.7 million changed hands.

Golden Agri-Resources : E5H 0% was the most actively traded counter by volume at the open, with 5 million shares trading hands but remained flat at S$0.25. Genting Singapore : G13 0% was the runner-up by volume with 4.6 million shares traded, but it too remained flat at S$0.925.

Vividthree : OMK 0% jumped in early trade, gaining 14.3 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.04 after 2.5 million shares changed hands. The Catalist-listed entertainment company had on Thursday announced plans to acquire up to 51 per cent of public relations specialist Elliot & Co.

Banking stocks fell in early trade as well, with DBS : D05 0% shedding 0.2 per cent or S$0.07 to S$33.89, and UOB : U11 0% dipping 0.2 per cent or S$0.07 to S$30.80. OCBC : O39 0%, meanwhile, posted a 0.5 per cent or S$0.06 drop to S$12.30 as at 9.02 am.

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On Wall Street, stock indexes closed sharply lower on Thursday, with each of the major averages suffering their biggest daily percentage drop in weeks, as fears intensified that the US Federal Reserve’s battle against inflation using aggressive interest rate hikes could lead to a recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 764.13 points, or 2.25 per cent, to 33,202.22; the S&P 500 lost 99.57 points, or 2.49 per cent, to 3,895.75; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 360.36 points, or 3.23 per cent, to 10,810.53.

The declines marked the biggest one-day percentage drops for the S&P and Nasdaq since Nov 2, and largest for the Dow since Sep 13. Each closed at its lowest level since Nov 9.

Meanwhile, European shares posted their worst daily performance in six months on Thursday, after the European Central Bank delivered its fourth straight interest rate hike and said it expected to keep raising rates further, echoing hawkish commentary from the US Federal Reserve.

Shares in the eurozone fell 3.1 per cent to their lowest level in a month, while the broader Stoxx 600 index posted its worst daily performance since May.

The ECB raised interest rates by half a percentage point and, like the Fed on Wednesday, kept further hikes firmly on the table to bring runaway inflation under control.