Singapore stocks track regional declines; STI down 0.2%

[SINGAPORE] Singapore stocks ended lower on Thursday (Jan 8), amid a weak regional showing.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) lost 0.2 per cent or 8.55 points to finish at 4,739.07. Meanwhile, the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index gained 0.3 per cent or 4.80 points to 1,466.43.

Across the broader market, gainers trailed losers 271 to 300, after 1.4 billion securities worth S$1.7 billion changed hands.

Key regional indices were mostly lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 1.2 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi remained almost flat and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 0.4 per cent.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.6 per cent, as geopolitical tensions between Japan and China rose.

“Beijing has imposed export restrictions on dual-use goods to Japan – including key semiconductor inputs and rare-earth materials – and launched an anti-dumping investigation into dichlorosilane, a critical chipmaking chemical imported from Japan, following complaints from domestic producers,” noted Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote.

Tokyo said the export curbs were unacceptable and warned of disruptions to the global supply chain, she added.

She noted that Japan’s tech-heavy Topix index has retreated from the all-time highs reached earlier this week.

Hongkong Land led the gainers on Singapore’s blue-chip index, rising 3.5 per cent or US$0.25 to US$7.49.

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The worst performer among STI constituents was Singapore Exchange , falling 2.2 per cent or S$0.39 to close at S$17.31.

The three local banks ended mixed on Thursday. OCBC rose 0.5 per cent or S$0.11 to S$20.17, DBS finished 1.8 per cent or S$1.06 lower at S$57.34, while UOB inched down 0.03 per cent or S$0.01 to S$36.01.