STI down 0.99%, tracking Wall Street losses as Russia-Ukraine peace talks stall

SINGAPORE shares ended on a sour note on Thursday (Mar 31), following a sell-off on Wall Street amid uncertainties over the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

The Straits Times Index shed 0.99 per cent or 34.09 points to close at 3,408.52, with gainers trailing losers 203 to 270. 1.48 billion sh ares worth S$1.4 billion changed hands throughout the session.

While peace talks between Russia and Ukraine held promise of a de-escalation of war in the early part of the week, Russia continued attacks on Wednesday, with bombings intensifying on the outskirts of Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine.

"The ongoing hot and cool tone in the geopolitical conflict may continue to drive shifts in market sentiment as we edge closer to the weekend break," said IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong.

Regional markets ended mixed with Japan's Nikkei index closing 0.73 per cent lower and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index falling 1.06 per cent.

On the other hand, Korea's benchmark Kospi ended up 0.4 per cent. The Jakarta Composite Index and the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index each climbed 0.26 per cent.

Among the STI's constituents, Jardine Matheson JMH extended losses, closing down 3.48 per cent or US$1.98 to US$55. The top gainer was the Singapore Exchange SGX , which closed 0.81 per cent or S$0.08 higher at S$9.97.

The local banking trio ended in the red, with UOB UOB down 0.9 per cent or S$0.29 to S$32.02, DBS DBS down 0.83 per cent or S$0.30 to S$35.83, and OCBC OCBC down 0.56 per cent or S$0.07 to S$12.38.