STI up 0.03% to 2,973.87 while several others in Asia dip

SINGAPORE'S blue-chip barometer the Straits Times Index (STI) finished trading at 2,973.87 points on Tuesday, rising only 0.03 per cent or 0.87 points, whereas several markets in Asia closed in the red.

The STI saw all the three local banks posting declines: OCBC dropped 0.09 per cent to S$11.08, DBS down 0.59 per cent to S$26.94, and UOB shed 0.68 per cent to S$24.99, with them trading cum-dividend.

Three Jardine companies topped the best-performer tally by value, as Jardine Matheson Holdings rose 3.8 per cent to US$53.60, Jardine Strategic Holdings up 5.01 per cent to US$27.05 and Jardine Cycle & Carriage climbed 4.01 per cent to S$22.31.

The mainboard-listed company Oceanus was the most-heavily traded stock for the second straight day, with a trading volume of 452.9 million shares and closed 11.1 per cent down at 6.4 Singapore cents.

Gainers lagged decliners 206 to 304 on the broader market, on a turnover of 2.75 billion securities worth S$1.6 billion.

Axi chief global markets strategist Stephen Innes said that as opposed to Monday's "risk-on" sprint, it feels like the markets have dropped to a marathon pace, albeit with a few more headwinds after the Chinese central bank implied that policy would be less accommodative going forward.

He noted markets in the region moved lower following cautious comments from the People's Bank of China on bubbles in foreign markets, which he thinks have taken on extra significance ahead of China's National People's Congress later this week.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was 1.21 per cent lower at 29,095.86 points, while its mainland counterpart Shanghai Composite Index also shed 1.21 per cent to 3,508.59 points. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index was 0.86 per cent lower at 29,408.17 points, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.40 per cent at 6,762.27 points.

South Korea's Kospi index, on the other hand, climbed 1.03 per cent to 3,043.87 points, as did the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index inch up 0.17 per cent to 1,569.87 points.