Singapore shares fall, dragged by banks; STI slips 0.6%
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Across the broader market, losers outpace gainers 341 to 265 after two billion securities change hands.
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
Renald Yeo
- Singapore's Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.6% on Apr 27, affected by local banks and Keppel. Losers outnumbered gainers across the market.
- Regional markets were mixed, with Japan and South Korea's indices gaining, while Hong Kong and Malaysia saw slight declines.
- Singapore's March factory output rose 10.1% year-on-year, exceeding forecasts. However, OCBC economist Selena Ling highlighted risks from prolonged US-Iran war.
AI generated
SINGAPORE - Stocks in Singapore fell on April 27, weighed down by the trio of local lenders, which all closed lower.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) shed 0.6 per cent, or 30.13 points, to 4,892.73.
Hongkong Land led the gainers on the blue-chip barometer, rising 2.4 per cent, or 18 US cents, to US$7.84. The index’s worst performer was Keppel, which dropped 5.2 per cent, or 60 cents, to $10.95 as it traded ex-dividend.
All three local banks ended the day in negative territory. DBS Bank lost 0.2 per cent, or 11 cents, to $56.79; OCBC Bank was down 0.5 per cent, or 11 cents, at $21.60; and UOB dropped 0.3 per cent, or 10 cents, to $35.90.
Across the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 341 to 265 after two billion securities worth $1.9 billion changed hands.
Over on the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, Yanlord Land was the top gainer, rising 6 per cent, or four cents, to 71 cents. China Aviation Oil was the index’s biggest decliner, falling 3.6 per cent, or eight cents, to $2.15.
Regional markets were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.4 per cent, and South Korea’s Kospi gained 2.2 per cent. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI each edged down 0.2 per cent.
Fresh March industrial production data showed that Singapore’s factory output rose 10.1 per cent year on year, beating a Bloomberg consensus forecast of 6 per cent.
OCBC chief economist Selena Ling said that while the latest data shows that output “remains resilient”, the “prolonged US-Iran war and the broadening of the oil supply shock to other sectors like global petrochemicals, airlines and logistics (are) beginning to take a toll on real economic activities”. THE BUSINESS TIMES
