STI ends July with heavy selling, down 1.45%

THE Singapore stock market ended the trading month of July on a sour note, with the benchmark index losing 47.02 points or 1.45 per cent to end at 3,202.50, its lowest since Oct 20 last year. The Straits Times Index (STI) has shed nearly 115 points or 3.5 per cent in July, stung largely by the rout in Chinese equities which suffered their worst monthly fall of 15 per cent in six years and left Beijing struggling to stem the meltdown.

The sell-down in Chinese equities is especially worrying as it is taking place against a backdrop of a slowing Chinese economy. On Friday, China's Shanghai Composite slipped 1.1 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.6 per cent while Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.3 per cent.

Friday's losses in the local bourse were broad-based with all the sector indices (except for healthcare) losing ground while over 60 per cent of the STI stocks were in the red.