Wall Street selloff drags STI down 1.5%

WALL Street's Tuesday blowout ensured a weak day for the local market on Wednesday, the Straits Times Index (STI) dropping 42.42 points or 1.5 per cent to 2,813.71 in relatively heavy volume of two billion units worth S$1.3 billion.

Earnings worries and interest rate concerns were reported to be the main factors behind the US market's selloff, with the release of the minutes of the September meeting of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) this week expected to provide clues as to whether US rates are to be raised in December.

Here, penny stocks were again the main play, as evidenced by the average value per unit traded of S$0.66 and the fact that 16 of the 20 most actively traded stocks cost less than S$0.20 each.