Singapore: STI falls 0.6% after slump at Wall Street

SHARES at Singapore Exchange (SGX) slipped on Monday with the Straits Times Index (STI) losing 21.94 points or 0.62 per cent to finish at 3,503.25.

Last Friday's slump in US equities and mixed policy signals from China - Beijing cracked down on margin lending to cool a robust equity market and boosted banks' lending powers by cutting their reserve requirements - gave the local bourse good reason for an extended pullback.

The extent of the cut - by 100 basis points - by China on the amount banks must hold as reserves to add more liquidity to lift the slowing economy had surprised many. Societe Generale pointed out that the last time the reserves were cut "this much in one go" was at the height of the global financial crisis.

Over at SGX, turnover stood at 2.6 billion shares worth S$1.15 billion. Losers outpaced gainers with 343 counters down and 151 up.