STI falls 1.2% on renewed trade war jitters after Cohn's resignation

SINGAPORE shares closed in negative territory as traders sent the Dow futures - a predictor of where the market will open - tumbling on news that President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, has resigned.

The resignation of Mr Cohn, nicknamed "Globalist Gary", renewed concerns over Mr Trump's decision to impose punishing tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium.

After opening at 3,467.75, the Straits Times Index (STI) closed at 3,450.69, down 41.23 points, or 1.18 per cent. More than 2.6 billion shares, worth S$1.5 billion, were traded. There were 155 gainers to 309 losers.