Singapore, Malaysia stock indexes hit by temporary FTSE disruption

Real-time values of Singapore and Malaysia's market benchmarks were affected by technical glitches at index provider FTSE Russell. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) - Real-time values of Singapore and Malaysia's market benchmarks were temporarily disrupted on Thursday morning (Aug 2) due to technical glitches at index provider FTSE Russell.

The issue became apparent when Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index was largely unchanged in the first hour of trading, despite DBS Group Holdings tumbling as much as 3 per cent after reporting earnings that missed analysts' estimates. DBS, South-east Asia's largest lender, has the biggest weight in the Singapore index at 16 per cent.

The equities benchmark started reflecting the right prices around 10am, said Joel Ng, head of research at KGI Securities (Singapore) Pte. Representatives at FTSE, a unit of London Stock Exchange Group Plc, didn't immediately reply to an email and calls seeking comment outside regular UK business hours.

"Real-time values for STI and FTSE China A50 indexes are now updating accurately," Singapore Exchange Ltd, which operates the stock and derivatives market including A50 futures, said in a statement. "FTSE continues to investigate other indexes. We will keep the market updated."

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index was also disrupted due to "a technical disruption at FTSE's end," the Malaysian bourse said. The issue was resolved as of 9:52am local time, Bursa Malaysia said.

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