STI tumbles 3.5% as Russia invades Ukraine on Thursday

SINGAPORE stocks ended sharply lower on Thursday (Feb 24) as reports emerged that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was underway, with explosions heard across the country.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) tumbled 3.5 per cent or 116.94 points to close at 3,276.06.

Markets were down elsewhere in the region as well, with major indices in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Australia closing between 1.8 per cent and 3.2 per cent lower.

IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong said geopolitical risks will remain at the forefront, weighing on risk assets as heightened uncertainty over Ukraine continue to keep market participants on edge.

Growth stocks seem to draw greater selling pressure, he added, pointing out that they are more exposed to the risks of an aggressive tightening process, in the event of higher inflationary pressures brought on by the conflict.

The top STI decliner was Singapore Airlines C6L , which finished 6.3 per cent lower at S$4.94.

Also at the bottom of the STI performance table are the trio of local banks, which shed between 4.5 per cent and 5 per cent, with UOB U11 taking the biggest fall to close at S$30.75.

SATS S58, which closed 5 per cent lower at S$3.97, and Dairy Farm D01 , which closed 4.7 per cent lower at US$2.64, saw big losses as well.

Emerging relatively unscathed was Sembcorp Industries U96 , which ended the day as the top STI performer with a 0.4 per cent loss to close at S$2.45.

Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 493 to 139 after 2.6 billion securities worth S$2.9 billion changed hands.

MM2 Asia 1B0 was among the most actively traded counters by volume, after the entertainment company announced plans to sell 390 million new shares at S$0.05 apiece to 2 investors. Its shares closed at S$0.061 up 10.9 per cent or S$0.006 after 146.3 million shares worth S$9 million changed hands.