STI down 0.6% after Apec summit divide

SINGAPORE equities began the week on a dull note after Apec leaders, for the first time, failed to produce a joint communique at the recently concluded Apec summit amid trade tensions between the US and China.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) slid 18.53 points, or 0.6 per cent to finish the session at 3,065.07. Losers outnumbered gainers 213 to 172, after about 1.01 billion shares worth S$703.3 million changed hands.

Said CMC market analyst Margaret Yang: "Singapore market gave up most of last Friday's gain, as the tensions during Apec summit underscored uncertainties that overshadowed the prospect of the upcoming G-20 meeting, in which the market previously anticipated positive breakthrough in the US-China trade relationship.