Singapore stocks decline as markets across Asia end mixed

SINGAPORE - Shares on the Singapore bourse kicked off the week in the red on March 10, as regional markets ended mixed.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.4 per cent, or 15.41 points, to 3,899.07.

The biggest decliner on the index was property developer Hongkong Land. The counter slid 1.8 per cent, or eight US cents, to US$4.38.

The top gainer was real estate investment trust Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust, climbing 1.8 per cent, or 1.5 cents, to 85.5 cents.

Resort and casino operator Genting Singapore was the most actively traded counter by volume, with 38.9 million shares worth $27.8 million traded. The counter rose 1.4 per cent, or one cent, to 72 cents.

Across the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers 320 to 195, as 1.38 billion shares worth $1.26 billion were traded.

Markets across the region ended mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.4 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.3 per cent. Australia’s ASX 200 added 0.2 per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index took a beating on March 10 as China imposed tariffs on US agricultural goods. The bourse shed 1.9 per cent.

With the trade war heating up between the US and China, Mr Paul Chew, head of research at Phillip Securities Research, said the next wave of US tariffs could be on South-east Asia.

However, he noted that the tariff rate would be less than the 20 per cent imposed on China.

Sectors in Singapore that are better sheltered from a trade war are construction, defence, finance and property. However, manufacturing is “burdened” by tariff uncertainty, he added.

THE BUSINESS TIMES