Singapore stocks slide amid sea of red across Asia markets; STI down 1.4%
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The benchmark Straits Times Index lost 1.4 per cent or 44.09 points to close at 3,129.72.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Raphael Lim
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SINGAPORE - Regional investors sent shares down across most markets on Wednesday, despite the positive session on Wall Street overnight.
The local bourse was no exception, with the Straits Times Index (STI) sliding 1.4 per cent or 44.09 points to close at 3,129.72. Losers outnumbered gainers 332 to 275, after 1.4 billion securities worth $1.2 billion were traded.
Shares of telco Singtel led the index decliners, falling 4.8 per cent to $2.36 on news that its Australian subsidiary Optus was hit by a major outage earlier on Wednesday that affected some 10 million users.
Sembcorp Industries, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, ST Engineering and Keppel Corp were also among the top decliners, with their shares falling more than 2 per cent.
Just two STI counters ended the day positive. Singapore Airlines rose 0.6 per cent to $6.28, while UOL gained 1.3 per cent to $6.13, ending at the top of the index performance table.
Seatrium was the most actively traded by volume, with a hefty 315 million shares worth $34.9 million changing hands. The counter fell 3.5 per cent to 10.9 cents after announcing on Wednesday that it expects to incur a net loss for FY2023, despite improving operational and financial performance.
Elsewhere, key indexes in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Shanghai ended the day in the red, slipping between 0.2 per cent and 0.9 per cent. The ASX 200 in Australia bucked the regional trend, climbing 0.3 per cent.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes noted that Asian markets were potentially dragged down by weaker China trade data, which highlighted “persistent external challenges for Asian economic growth”.
The declines in the region came after a robust day on Wall Street, with tech and consumer firms enjoying a robust outing.
The Nasdaq set the pace, adding 0.9 per cent for its eighth straight daily gain and ahead 30 per cent on the year.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent while the Dow Jones advanced 0.2 per cent. THE BUSINESS TIMES
