Singapore stocks fall 0.6% on Wednesday as Middle East conflict enters third month

[SINGAPORE] Singapore stocks ended lower on Wednesday (Apr 29), as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East – which began on Feb 28 – entered its third month.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.6 per cent, or 26.72 points, to close at 4,860.97.

Singapore’s three local banks all finished lower. DBS declined 0.3 per cent or S$0.19 to S$56.56, OCBC slipped 0.1 per cent or S$0.02 to S$21.66, while UOB fell 0.5 per cent or S$0.18 to S$35.78.

Across the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 324 to 292, after 2.2 billion securities worth S$2.4 billion changed hands.

Among the STI constituents, UOL Group was the top performer with a rise of 1.4 per cent or S$0.15 to S$10.77.

The biggest decliner was Mapletree Industrial Trust , which dropped 4.4 per cent or S$0.09 to end at S$1.97.

At an earnings briefing on Wednesday, the trust’s manager said it planned to divest S$500 million to S$600 million of assets in North America within the next two years, as part of efforts to recycle capital and expand into new markets.

This came after the manager reported an 8 per cent fall in distribution per unit for the fourth quarter ended Mar 31 to S$0.0309.

Over at iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, First Resources was the top gainer, climbing 4.4 per cent or S$0.14 to S$3.31. Meanwhile, Hong Leong Asia was the biggest loser, declining 3.9 per cent or S$0.12 to S$2.94.

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Regional markets were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.7 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.8 per cent, while the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI shed 0.5 per cent.