Singapore stocks close flat amid escalating Middle East tensions
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Across the broader market, gainers trailed losers 268 to 349 after 1.4 billion securities worth $2.6 billion changed hands.
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
Young Zhan Heng
- Singapore's Straits Times Index (STI) closed slightly lower, down 0.02%, amid rising Middle East tensions.
- Sembcorp Industries led gains, while Thai Beverage fell. Local banks showed mixed performance with OCBC up, DBS and UOB down.
- Regional indexes declined due to Middle East conflict and uncertainty regarding trade through the Red Sea after US troop increase.
AI generated
SINGAPORE - Stocks in Singapore ended flat on March 30 as tensions in the Middle East rose.
The Straits Times Index (STI) was flattish, closing 0.02 per cent, or 0.92 points, lower at 4,897.26.
Sembcorp Industries led the gainers on Singapore’s blue-chip index, rising 2.8 per cent to end at $6.68. The worst performer among STI constituents was Thai Beverage, which fell 1.2 per cent to 43 cents.
The three local banks ended mixed on March 30. OCBC Bank rose 0.3 per cent to $21.63, while DBS Bank finished 0.3 per cent, or 18 cents, lower at $56.97, and UOB fell 0.8 per cent to $36.54.
The iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index gained 0.4 per cent, or 6.49 points, to 1,455.46.
China Aviation Oil was the index’s top gainer, rising 3.4 per cent to $2.14. UOB Kay Hian was the biggest loser, falling 4.3 per cent to end the session at $3.38.
Across the broader market, gainers trailed losers 268 to 349 after 1.4 billion securities worth $2.6 billion changed hands.
Key regional indexes ended March 30 in negative territory. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.8 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.8 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi was down 3 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 1.4 per cent.
US President Donald Trump said on March 29 that he wants to “take the oil in Iran”, as the conflict enters its fifth week.
About 3,500 additional US troops arrived in the Middle East on March 27, in what Swissquote senior analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya described as a “big deal”.
She noted that the move brings about new uncertainty regarding trade through the Red Sea, adding that this comes as the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz takes a toll on global energy and other essential goods flows, including fertilisers.
“So now, shipping through the Red Sea is also becoming risky.” THE BUSINESS TIMES
