Stocks continue to slip on China worries

THE local stock market underwent another soft session on Tuesday with the Straits Times Index dropping 17.7 points or 0.6 per cent to 3,049.65 and the broad market excluding warrants recording 111 rises versus 354 falls. Turnover was a moderate 1.5 billion units worth S$1.2 billion and sentiment, which has been weak for several weeks, remained soft on worries over China's yuan devaluation last week.

Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index lost 1.4 per cent as the Shanghai Composite Index plunged 6.1 per cent, hitting sentiment throughout the region and raising fears of a Tuesday selloff in Western markets.

In the second line, shares of CEFC International ended S$0.025 down at S$0.34 on volume of 6.8 million. The Securities Investors Association (SIAS) on Tuesday released a press statement expressing concern over trading in this stock and drawing attention to a recent warning to trade with caution issued by the Singapore Exchange. SIAS also noted that the counter had risen from S$0.025 cents on July 7 to an intraday high of S$0.405 on Aug 14 without any fundamental change to the company's business.