STI drops 0.4% as October's factory output falls against expectations

LOCAL shares took a hit on Thursday, with an unexpected 0.9 per cent year-on-year fall in the city-state's factory output for the month of October weighing on investor sentiment.

The decline was caused by a combination of a fall in electronics output and poorer biomedical performance. Economists had expected a 7.3 per cent growth.

The benchmark Straits Times Index ended Thursday down 12.07 points or 0.4 per cent at 2,857.48. Advancers outnumbered decliners 253 to 175, after some 1.87 billion securities worth S$1.25 billion changed hands.