STI down 1.5% amid fall in Dow futures

THE closure of China's market on Thursday and Friday to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II may have helped ease pressure on the Straits Times Index (STI) on Thursday, but it didn't help on Friday when the STI dropped 42.62 points or 1.5 per cent to 2,863.81 in tandem with a slide in the futures contract on the Dow Jones Industrial Average ahead of the release of US August jobs data.

The only consolation - if it can be called that - was that the selling came in weak volume of 1.2 billion units worth S$1.1 billion. Excluding warrants, there were 145 rises versus 274 falls.

For the week, the STI fell 92 points or about 3.1 per cent. Volume was weak over the five days as many opted to stay away from equities given the deteriorating economic outlook brought on by China's alarming slowdown.