Singapore shares down on tariffs drag; STI dips 0.2%

SINGAPORE – Local shares ended in the red for the third straight session after US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on China, a key trading partner of Singapore.

The much-anticipated move left the Straits Times Index (STI) down 0.2 per cent or 7.64 points to 3,815.37 on Feb 5. Across the broader market, gainers trailed losers 247 to 260 after 1.3 billion securities worth $1 billion changed hands.

The banks all fell. DBS slipped 0.2 per cent to $44.32 while UOB dropped the same amount, closing at $37.20. OCBC logged a steeper decline of 0.5 per cent to $17.17.

Telco Singtel, also an STI heavyweight, fell 0.6 per cent to $3.21. Genting Singapore was the STI’s worst performer, down 2 per cent to 74 cents.

Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust rose 1.1 per cent to 89 cents after noting on Feb 4 that it leased 175,000 sq m of space in the first quarter ended Dec 31, with a portfolio occupancy of 94.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, Wall Street rebounded overnight to recover most of Monday’s losses. The Nasdaq set the pace, rising 1.4 per cent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 per cent and the S&P 500 advanced 0.7 per cent.

SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said: “Markets may have initially cheered Washington’s pause on North American tariffs, but the real battle is unfolding in Asia, where tensions remain at a rolling boil.”

The opening salvos make one thing clear – Chinese President Xi Jinping is playing a different game this time, he added. Unlike in Mr Trump’s first term, when Beijing met fire with fire, China is now treading cautiously, knowing its economy is walking a tightrope.

The US could push tariffs to their highest levels in a century if its trade partners – especially China – do not play ball, sending the global economy into a tailspin, igniting US inflation and setting off supply chain shockwaves, Mr Innes noted.

THE BUSINESS TIMES