STI dips below 3,500 as banks, Singtel pull back

YOU know it's a party when beer shares in the region are rallying hard with almost every other neighbouring market, but Singapore is still the serious, sober guy ready to drive his friends home.

Pulled down by DBS, UOB and Singtel, the benchmark Straits Times Index slipped 11.71 points, or 0.33 per cent, to close at 3,489.45. About 1.97 billion shares worth S$1.13 billion in total changed hands.

Midas Holdings, an aluminium extruder, continued to be actively traded after announcing an associate's first contract wins of the year this week. It rose 5.7 per cent to S$0.166.