STI slips amid trade war, oil price fears

SINGAPORE was not immune to trade war jitters on Monday, closely tracking the declines in other regional bourses as the tariff row between the United States and China escalated.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) closed down by 32.69 points, or 0.97 per cent, at 3,324.04, on traders' return from the Hari Raya Puasa long weekend. It was a mild recovery after the ticker slipped below the 3,300 mark to 3,299.81 in the late morning - but the index has still lost all the ground that it took in the year to date.

"Weak sentiment across Asia and mounting concerns over the Fed interest rate hike dampened investors' confidence, resulting in profit-taking activities," said CMC Markets Singapore analyst Margaret Yang.