Singapore stocks close lower on Wednesday on weak China, US data; STI down 0.7%

THE Singapore market fell on Wednesday, tracking losses on Wall Street due to weak US consumer inflation figures, even as China's industrial production and retail sales data missed expectations.

The Straits Times Index (STI) slipped 0.7 per cent or 21.76 points to close at 3,058.61 points.

Decliners outnumbered advancers 298 to 196, with 1.43 billion shares worth S$1 billion changing hands.

Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley said: "China's data dump today contained some unpleasant surprises, as each release missed expectation, darkening the mood across Asia, already nervous after a soft close on Wall Street following soft inflation results.

"The expectations of government largesse may be limiting the fallout in China equities," he added. "But with the sectoral clampdowns, the Evergrande saga, and withering domestic consumer confidence, the downward repricing of China equities could be far from over."

Hongkong Land, the worst performer on the STI on Tuesday, managed to claw back some of its losses on Wednesday. The counter was the top gainer on the blue-chip index, closing 1.1 per cent or US$0.05 higher at US$4.68.

SGX was the only other advancer among the STI constituents. Its shares edged up 0.1 per cent or S$0.01 to S$10.06.

At the bottom of the table was Jardine Matheson Holdings, which closed 2.3 per cent or US$1.23 lower at US$52.77.

The trio of local lenders also closed lower. DBS fell 0.9 per cent or S$0.27 to S$30.07, UOB was down 0.9 per cent or S$0.23 to close at S$25.60, and OCBC ended 0.4 per cent or S$0.05 down at S$11.60.

The most heavily traded counter on the index was Genting Singapore, with 24.8 million shares traded. Shares of Genting Singapore fell 1.3 per cent or 1 Singapore cent to 76.5 cents. This came after Macau officials unveiled plans to tighten their grip on casino operators. The crackdown sent the Hang Seng Index sinking 1.8 per cent or 469.02 points to 25,033.21.

Most Asian markets closed lower amid the weak economic data from the US and China. The Nikkei 225 index slid 0.5 per cent or 158.39 points to end at 30,511.71, the Jakarta Composite Index fell 0.3 per cent or 18.87 points to close at 6,110.23, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dipped 0.02 per cent or 0.25 points to 1,555.26.

However, the Kospi extended gains to a fourth straight session, closing up 4.57 points or 0.15 per cent at 3,153.40, as foreign-buying overshadowed concerns around global economic growth.