Singapore stocks: STI resumes Tuesday trading at 3,357.57, down 0.4% on day

SINGAPORE stocks resumed trading in negative territory on Tuesday, with the Straits Times Index slipping 14.69 points or 0.4 per cent to 3,357.57 as at 1.04pm. 

Losers outnumbered gainers 182 to 136, after about 561.4 million securities worth S$413 million changed hands. 

Among the most heavily traded by volume, Genting Singapore was flat at S$0.935, with 12.9 million shares traded, while Singtel dipped 0.3 per cent, or one Singapore cent to S$3.48, with 9.9 million shares traded. 

Banking stocks however, were in the red by the afternoon - DBS dropped 0.8 per cent, or 20 Singapore cents to S$26.40, UOB lost 0.6 per cent, or 17 cents to S$26.44, and OCBC fell 1.1 per cent, or 13 cents to S$11.46.

Other active stocks included Venture Corp which fell 2 per cent, or 34 cents to S$16.60, and Keppel Corp which declined 1.5 per cent, or 10 cents to S$6.70.

Elsewhere in Asia, equities traded mixed as the after-glow from the Trump-Xi meeting fizzled out later in the global day. Japan's Topix was up 0.2 per cent, while South Korea's Kospi dipped 0.2 per cent. 

Australia stocks gained 0.3 per cent, and China's Shanghai Composite Index was little changed. 

Meanwhile, Hong Kong played catch-up with the global rally overnight, in response to the US-China trade truce. The Hang Seng index rose 1.4 per cent, after returning from a long weekend. 

"Asia markets can be seen mixed going into the Tuesday session with the markets moderating some of the positive glow after the sentiment-driven trade on Monday," noted IG market strategist Pan Jingyi. 

Separately, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on Tuesday lowered the cost of borrowing for the second straight month at its July meeting, bringing interest rates to a new historic low. 

Last month, Australia reduced rates for the first time in three years, in a bid to boost an economy hit by a housing market slump and slowing Chinese growth. The move also comes as central banks around the world shift to a more accommodative policy amid global trade uncertainty.

In line with economists' expectations, the central bank has trimmed its cash rate by 25 basis points to a record low of 1 per cent this month, and left the door ajar for another cut. 

The Aussie dollar also pinned near one-week lows at US$0.6986, having slipped 0.9 per cent overnight, data from Reuters shows.