Blue chips close lower in Singapore; STI slides 0.2%
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Across the broader market, decliners beat gainers 302 to 262, as 1.5 billion securities worth $2 billion change hands.
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
Tay Peck Gek
- Singapore's Straits Times Index (STI) declined by 0.2% due to Brent crude prices surging above US$100 a barrel on March 12.
- DFI Retail Group fell 5.3%, making it the worst STI performer, while Jardine Matheson topped gainers with a 2.2% increase in share price.
- Bank of Singapore downgrades Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia but favours Hong Kong, mainland China and Singapore due to large crude reserves.
AI generated
SINGAPORE - Brent crude price movements continued to hold equities to ransom on March 12, with Singapore blue-chip stocks declining after the oil surged above US$100 a barrel.
The Straits Times Index (STI) closed 8.48 points or 0.2 per cent lower at 4,855.33, while the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index rose eight points or 0.6 per cent to 1,445.12.
DFI Retail Group was the worst STI performer with a 5.3 per cent fall to US$4.50. Meanwhile, its holding company Jardine Matheson topped the blue-chip tally with a gain of 2.2 per cent, finishing at US$76.31.
The banking trio ended mixed. OCBC Bank was 11 cents or 0.5 per cent lower at $20.75, and DBS Bank declined 35 cents or 0.6 per cent to $55.37. UOB ended 15 cents or 0.4 per cent higher at $36.24.
Decliners beat gainers 302 to 262 across the broader market, with 1.5 billion securities worth $2 billion transacted.
The global benchmark Brent rocketed by over 10 per cent to US$101.59 a barrel on March 12, while West Texas Intermediate rose to near US$96, fuelled by Iraq’s decision to stop operations at its oil ports after two tankers were targeted.
Iran also warned that oil prices could reach US$200 a barrel, as it continues to attack merchant ships in the Gulf.
Mr Eli Lee, chief investment strategist at Bank of Singapore, said the private bank is downgrading Malaysia to “neutral” and the Philippines and Indonesia to “underweight”, but continues to favour Hong Kong, mainland China and Singapore.
“Although about half of China’s crude oil imports originate from the Gulf and pass through the Strait of Hormuz, China has accumulated one of the world’s largest strategic and commercial crude reserves,” he noted. THE BUSINESS TIMES
