Singapore stocks: STI resumes Friday afternoon at 3,354.07, down 0.8% on day

SINGAPORE stocks fell as trading resumed on Friday afternoon, with the Straits Times Index (STI) falling 0.8 per cent or 27.19 points to 3,354.07 as at 1.01pm, tracking falls in other Asia markets as a bearish outlook on Fed rate cut hopes continued to weigh on markets.

On the Singapore bourse, losers outnumbered gainers 183 to 128, or about 10 securities down for every seven up, after 507.6 million securities worth S$414.8 million changed hands.

Among the most heavily traded by volume, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings declined 1.4 per cent or S$0.02 to S$1.44 with 17.2 million shares traded. China Star Food Group headed up 9.4 per cent or S$0.003 to S$0.035 with 14.0 million shares traded.

Singtel retreated 4.6 per cent or S$0.16 to S$3.31 with 13.9 million shares traded. CMC market analyst Margaret Yang said the STI followed US's session into selling mode on Friday, partly due to Singtel's ex-dividend which contributed to around an eight point fall in the benchmark index.

Active index stocks included Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit), down 2.1 per cent or S$0.04 to S$1.91. The Reit had on Friday morning posted a 4.6 per cent drop in its distribution per unit to 2.361 Singapore cents for the second quarter, amid lower convention revenue from Suntec Singapore. Ascendas Reit, another active index stock, remain unchanged at S$3.03.

Banking stocks were also trading weaker, with United Overseas Bank, down 1 per cent or S$0.28 to S$26.70; DBS Group Holdings down 0.7 per cent or S$0.19 to S$26.72; and OCBC Bank down 0.5 per cent or S$0.06 to S$11.71.

Ms Yang added that lower trades observed in banks, real estate, technology and consumer sectors is also reflecting a broad "risk off" sentiment.

In other Asia markets, Tokyo was down 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong fell by 0.5 per cent and Shanghai dropped 0.2 per cent. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.4 per cent.