Singapore stocks finish weaker in the wake of slide in oil prices

A 5 per cent overnight plunge in oil prices brought pressure to bear on the oil and gas sector on Thursday, depressing the Straits Times Index by 26.45 points to 3,118.84.

Turnover amounted to a subdued 2.3 billion units worth S$1 billion, the lowest one-day tally in about 11 weeks. Excluding warrants, there were 163 rises versus 354 falls.

Wall Street fell for a third consecutive session on Wednesday after the US Department of Energy reported that its commercial inventory increased by 8.2 million barrels over the last week, far exceeding the consensus of 2.5 million.