Singapore blue chips tank following sharp spike in oil prices; STI down 1.9%
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The blue-chip barometer Straits Times Index slid 91.64 points to 4,756.61.
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
Tay Peck Gek
- Singapore's STI fell 1.9% to 4,756.61 amid heavy trading, with most blue-chip stocks declining due to surging oil prices surpassing US$100 a barrel.
- The iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index rose 0.3%, with Riverstone Holdings and China Aviation Oil bucking the trend, as UOB Kay Hian led losses.
- Oil prices spiked due to output cuts and regional tensions, leading to inflation fears; the VIX index, a "fear gauge", surged past 30.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Singapore blue chips were weighed down – amid heavy trading – by a sharp spike in oil prices on March 9 as the fuel surged past US$100 a barrel.
The blue-chip barometer Straits Times Index (STI) slid 91.64 points or 1.9 per cent to 4,756.61, after having pared some losses in the afternoon trading session. All but one constituent of the 30-stock STI were down. The counter bucking the decline was palm oil producer Wilmar International, which rose four cents or 1.1 per cent to $3.53.
The rest of the stocks recorded losses of between 0.4 per cent (Sembcorp Industries at $5.70) and 4.8 per cent (Hongkong Land at US$7.98).
The iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, meanwhile, finished 4.76 points or 0.3 per cent up at 1,455.73 points – even though only two out of the 50 stocks ended higher.
Riverstone Holdings closed one cent or 1.4 per cent up at 74 cents, making it the best performer on the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index. China Aviation Oil advanced one cent or 0.5 per cent to $1.84 – the other stock on the index that was spared the rout. Securities broker UOB Kay Hian led the losses with a 6.8 per cent or 22-cent decline to $3.01.
Decliners beat gainers 532 to 193 across the broader market, with more than 2.4 billion securities valued at $3 billion in total transacted.
The rout in Singapore and other stock markets in Asia came as rocketing crude oil prices fuelled by output cuts stoked inflation fears.
Brent spiked over 20 per cent to more than US$100 a barrel on March 9, and the West Texas Intermediate jumped nearly as much, as Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates started reducing output. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that normally handles 20 per cent of the world’s oil, and attacks on energy infrastructure in the region have sent prices of crude sharply higher.
The VIX index, often known as the “fear gauge”, surged past 30. The last time it was higher was in the aftermath of the US tariff announcements in April 2025. THE BUSINESS TIMES
