Singapore stocks slip on Monday as precious metals rout deepens; STI down 0.3%

[SINGAPORE] Singapore stocks ended lower on Monday (Feb 2), tracking regional peers amid a sharp sell-off in precious metals that extended from the previous week.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.3 per cent, or 12.86 points, to close at 4,892.27. The iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index declined 0.4 per cent, or 5.48 points, to 1,496.09.

Across the broader market, gainers trailed losers 200 to 453, with 1.6 billion securities worth S$2.1 billion traded.

Regional markets also ended in the red. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 2.2 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 1.3 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi fell 5.3 per cent.

The declines came as the precious metals rout intensified. Spot silver prices were down 19 per cent on Monday and 27.6 per cent over the past three days, Bloomberg data showed as at 5.45 pm. Spot gold prices fell 8.3 per cent and 11 per cent over the same periods.

“Things just got too frothy – this was like crypto markets at their worst; a massively crowded and leveraged long bet, and volatility that fed on itself as market makers couldn’t quote prices, leaving liquidity an issue,” said Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets, in a Monday note.

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On the STI, Jardine Matheson was the top gainer, rising 1.3 per cent, or US$0.93, to US$73.70. Hongkong Land was the index’s worst performer, sliding 2.5 per cent, or US$0.21, to US$8.28.

The three local banks finished mixed. UOB gained 0.3 per cent, or S$0.13, to S$38.40, but DBS fell 0.5 per cent, or S$0.32, to S$58.88. OCBC slipped 0.6 per cent, or S$0.13, to S$21.10.