Singapore shares decline 1.1% on weak global growth fears

SINGAPORE - Local shares fell on concerns over the health of the global economy.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended the day at 3,223.87, down 35.38 points or 1.1 per cent, a five-month low.

For the week, it fell by 29.37 points or 0.9 per cent.

It was a sea of red all across Asia.

Tokyo declined 1.2 per cent, Hong Kong dropped 1.9 per cent, Shanghai lost 0.6 per cent, Seoul shed 1.2 per cent while Sydney slid 2.1 per cent.

Taipei was spared as the market was closed for a public holiday.

A heavy sell-off on Wall Street overnight dragged shares here lower, as attention turned to Europe, a major laggard in the recovery story.

Germany, the Eurozone's powerhouse, spooked markets with a series of poor economic data that showed its exports in August dropped 5.8 per cent, the worst fall since January 2009.

Coming off a week where Germany also reported worse-than-expected numbers for factory orders and industrial production, jittery investors bailed out of stocks.

The Dow Jones tumbled 2 per cent overnight while the S&P 500 dropped 2.1 per cent.

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