Singapore stocks track regional losses on Wednesday; STI down 0.1%

SINGAPORE shares ended marginally lower on Wednesday (Oct 16), tracking losses elsewhere in the region.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) was down 0.1 per cent or 4.85 points at 3,590.62. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 288 to 233, after 1.5 billion securities worth S$1.2 billion changed hands.

The local banking trio ended lower.  DBS fell 1 per cent or S$0.40 to S$39,  OCBC  lost 0.3 per cent or S$0.04 to finish at S$15.10, and UOB  closed 0.1 per cent or S$0.02 lower at S$32.34.

CGS International Securities analysts Andrea Choong and Lim Siew Khee recommend a “hold” on DBS shares.

They said: “The asset quality risks of its onshore mainland China property exposure (less than 1 per cent of group loans) remain contained, in our view, as the majority of its loans are extended to China state-owned enterprises.”

On the STI, the biggest decliner was  Wilmar International , down 1.2 per cent or S$0.04 at S$3.26.

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Meanwhile, the top gainer was DFI Retail Group , which clawed back previous sessions’ losses to rise 3.8 per cent, or US$0.08, to US$2.18.

Most key indices in the region finished lower. The Nikkei 225 lost 1.8 per cent, the Hang Seng Index shed 0.2 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down 0.6 per cent.