Singapore stocks trend lower amid mixed regional showing; STI down 0.7%

[SINGAPORE] Singapore stocks ended lower on Tuesday (Jun 30) amid a mixed showing from wider Asian markets.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) lost about 0.7 per cent or 38.1 points to finish at 5,170.65. Across the broader market, gainers trailed losers 252 to 290, after 1.3 billion securities worth S$1.9 billion changed hands.

Seatrium led the gainers on Singapore’s blue-chip index, rising 1 per cent or S$0.02 to end at S$1.97.

The worst performer among STI constituents was CapitaLand Ascendas Reit , which fell 2 per cent or S$0.05 to close at S$2.49.

The local banks all ended lower. DBS lost 1 per cent or S$0.63 to S$65.40, OCBC fell 0.4 per cent or S$0.09 to S$24.79, and UOB was down 0.4 per cent or S$0.14 at S$39.76.

Within the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, AEM was the top gainer, rising 5.8 per cent or S$0.58 to finish at S$10.63. Top Glove was the biggest loser, falling 2.3 per cent or S$0.005 to end the session at S$0.215.

Key regional indices were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.6 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.9 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi was up 1 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 0.1 per cent.

Noticeably, the Japanese yen also slid to new lows against the US dollar, at 162.1885 yen. It has also weakened to 125.3054 per Singdollar as at Tuesday.

This weakness is a double-edged sword, said Christy Tan, global investment strategist at Franklin Templeton Institute.

“A weak yen helps exporters and flatters overseas earnings, but it also raises import costs (and) squeezes households,” she explained.

This article has been written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a reporter