Singapore stocks slide on Wednesday; STI retreats 0.8%
SINGAPORE shares declined on Wednesday (Apr 3), after a slide in US stocks.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) shed 0.8 per cent or 25.06 points to 3,222.66.
Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 293 to 235, as 1.7 billion securities worth S$1.1 billion changed hands.
In the region, indices were largely in the red. Japan’s NIkkei 225 slid 1 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index dipped 1.7 per cent. The Hang Seng Index closed down 1.2 per cent.
The Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index, meanwhile, rose 0.1 per cent.
Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said: “The decline across all three major US indices has put investors on edge, and historically, such market turbulence doesn’t bode well for Asian stocks, even if the outlook in Asia remains relatively positive given the gradually changing tides in China’s economic data.”
Back home, the top gainer on the STI was offshore and marine company Seatrium , which ended up 1.2 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.085.
At the bottom of the index was food retailer DFI Retail Group , which retreated 5.4 per cent or US$0.12 to US$2.10.
Telco Singtel , an STI constituent, lost 4.3 per cent or S$0.11 to end at S$2.43. The group had denied media reports over a potential deal regarding Australian subsidiary Optus, after Australian media reported that talks with Canadian private equity firm Brookfield failed to result in a deal.
The trio of local banks ended lower. DBS fell 0.3 per cent or S$0.11 to S$36.09, while UOB decreased 0.4 per cent or S$0.13 to S$29.53. OCBC retreated 0.3 per cent or S$0.04 to S$13.60.
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