Singapore stocks decline amid regional rout, STI falls 0.2%

SINGAPORE – Concerns that the strong American economy will further boost the greenback tested the nerves of investors on Thursday and sent shares across the region into negative territory.

The fallout here was not as bad as elsewhere, with the Straits Times Index (STI) falling just 0.2 per cent, or 7.47 points, to 3,071.31.

Gainers beat losers 294 to 285 on the broader market, with 1.29 billion shares worth $1.04 billion changing hands.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index also shed 0.2 per cent, but other major bourses in the region fared far worse.

The Kospi in South Korea declined 2.7 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.1 per cent, and Australian stocks slid 0.6 per cent to leave the index at a 12-month low.

SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said the United States was expected to post strong gross domestic product figures overnight, reflecting the resilience of the American consumer and a robust growth trend.

This would then continue to drive Asia’s currency weakness along with escalating geopolitical risks worldwide.

“The uncertainty in the global economy continues to weigh on local risk assets but is compounded by higher US yields,” he added.

Those concerns also hit Wall Street overnight, with tech stocks taking a major hit to send the Nasdaq down 2.4 per cent, one of its worst days of the year.

The S&P 500 fell 1.4 per cent – its lowest level since May – while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.3 per cent.

Genting Singapore was the STI’s biggest gainer, rising 2.3 per cent to 87.5 cents. Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust was at the bottom of the table, down 2.9 per cent to $1.

The trio of banks were mixed. OCBC Bank ended the day up 0.1 per cent to $12.85, while DBS Bank fell 0.03 per cent to $33.14 and UOB slipped 1.6 per cent to $27.28.

UOB reported on Thursday that third-quarter net profit fell 1 per cent year on year after accounting for one-off acquisition expenses. THE BUSINESS TIMES