Singapore shares extend slide on Wednesday; STI down as much as 1% in morning trade

SINGAPORE stocks slumped on on Wednesday on China tariff worries following an overnight rout in US and Europe markets, with the Straits Times Index falling as much as 1 per cent in morning trade.

The STI, which opened 0.8 per cent lower, recovered a little ground to trade down 0.91 per cent or 30.11 points to 3,282.41 at 11.11am.

As at 11.11am, losers outnumbered gainers 207 to 110, or about two securities down for every one up, after 945.2 million securities worth S$414.5 million changed hands.

Among the most heavily traded by volume, CWX Global rose 100.0 per cent or S$0.002 to S$0.004 with 36.8 million shares traded. KLW Holdings gained 33.3 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.004 with 25.0 million shares traded.

Active index stocks included DBS Group Holdings, down 0.8 per cent or S$0.21 to S$26.56; Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings, down 0.7 per cent or S$0.01 to S$1.52; and United Overseas Bank, down 1.1 per cent or S$0.29 to S$25.71.

US and Europe stocks fell in Tuesday's trading sessions, as worries over US President Donald Trump's pledge to raise tariffs on Chinese goods continued. 

Wall Street stocks declined, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at 25,967.05, down 1.8 per cent. S&P 500 meanwhile slid 1.7 per cent to 2,884.16, while the Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 2.0 per cent to 7,963.57.

In Europe, shares fell as risk appetite took a hit from the European Commission cutting eurozone growth forecasts, and investor pessimism amid US-China talks.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 1.4 per cent, while Italian stocks slipped 0.9 per cent and London-traded stocks declined 1.6 per cent. Germany's DAX also slid 1.6 per cent.