Singapore stocks extend losses amid sea of red; STI falls 0.6%

SINGAPORE shares closed lower on Wednesday (Aug 16), extending declines into mid-week. 

The Straits Times Index (STI) retreated 0.6 per cent or 19.16 points to 3,213.58.

Decliners outnumbered advancers 350 to 251, with 1.2 billion securities worth S$1.2 billion changing hands. 

The STI’s performance mirrored most regional indices. South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index was down 1.8 per cent after a public holiday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 1.4 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.5 per cent. Bucking the trend was the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI, which rose 0.2 per cent.

In Singapore, mainboard-listed Sats fell 3.1 per cent or S$0.08 to S$2.54. This came as the food solutions and gateway services group on Tuesday posted a net loss of S$29.9 million for the first quarter ended Jun 30.

The top gainer on the STI was Hongkong Land , which climbed 1.7 per cent or US$0.06 to US$3.70. The property group’s earnings for H1 FY2023 fell marginally to US$422 million, from US$425 million in the corresponding year-ago period. 

SEE ALSO

Asia: Markets fall on China woes, US rate concerns

Sats Q1 net loss widens to S$30 million on WFS integration costs

All three local lenders continued to decline on Wednesday, tracking bank stocks in the US. UOB dropped 1.3 per cent or S$0.36 to S$28.28, OCBC fell 1 per cent or S$0.13 to S$12.37, while DBS shed 0.6 per cent or S$0.19 to S$33.10.   

IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong said: “The pull-ahead in US retail sales provided some validation for soft-landing hopes but also left room for rates to be kept high for longer, with market sentiment seemingly placing its focus on the latter.”

US retail sales for July, which increased 3.2 per cent year on year, outpaced the 1.5 per cent forecast, while the month-on-month figure was up 0.7 per cent versus the 0.4 per cent consensus, he noted.