Singapore shares close lower; STI dragged down by selling of DBS, OCBC

SELLING of DBS and OCBC on Tuesday meant that the Straits Times Index (STI) finished the session 1.77 points lower at 2,911.31. Turnover, which dipped below S$1 billion on Monday for the first time in about a month, amounted to 1.6 billion units worth S$977 million. Excluding warrants, there were 175 rises versus 270 falls.

Two factors were said to be responsible for the drop in volume: the start of the holidays and a flight of capital out of emerging markets into the US dollar, the latter because of higher US interest rate expectations.

DBS, which closed at S$15.13 on the eve of the US elections on Nov 7, finished at a 52-week high of S$18.32 on Dec 7, a gain of S$3.19 or 21 per cent in four weeks. On Tuesday, it fell S$0.15 to S$17.55 on volume of 5.9 million.