Singapore stocks track regional declines; STI down 1%
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Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 477 to 161, after 1.5 billion securities worth $1.8 billion changed hands.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
Tan Nai Lun
- Singapore's Straits Times Index (STI) fell 1% to 4,469.14, mirroring regional market declines on November 21, with losers outweighing gainers.
- Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management cited an AI valuation bubble and instability in the Japanese sovereign bond market as factors driving the sell-off.
- Sembcorp Industries was the biggest STI loser, down 3.6%, while Hongkong Land was the top gainer, up 0.5%; local banks also saw declines.
AI generated
SINGAPORE - Local stocks ended lower on Nov 21, tracking declines in the region.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) was down 1 per cent, or 42.73 points, at 4,469.14, although the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index rose 0.6 per cent, or 8.56 points, to 1,455.49.
Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 477 to 161, after 1.5 billion securities worth $1.8 billion changed hands.
Key indexes in the region ended lower.
The Nikkei 225 fell 2.4 per cent, the Kospi Composite Index lost 3.8 per cent, the Hang Seng Index was down 2.4 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI ended 0.2 per cent lower.
Asia woke up to another blood-red tech board as the artificial intelligence (AI) valuation bubble wheezed under the weight of its own hype, said Mr Stephen Innes, managing partner of SPI Asset Management.
He added that the “true centre of gravity” for the sell-off was in the Japanese sovereign bond market, which is showing signs of destabilisation given its high debt load.
“High-multiple AI names aren’t collapsing because of revised cash-flow models; they’re collapsing because liquidity premia are shifting,” he said.
“Asia’s tech rout is only the tip of the iceberg. Beneath it lies the destabilisation of the world’s quietest and most consequential bond market,” he added.
On the STI, Sembcorp Industries was the biggest loser, falling 3.6 per cent, or 23 cents, to $6.08.
Hongkong Land was the top gainer, rising 0.5 per cent, or three US cents, to US$6.33.
The local banking trio ended lower. DBS fell 0.3 per cent to $53.67, OCBC Bank was down 1 per cent at $18.07, while UOB decreased 0.1 per cent to $33.85. THE BUSINESS TIMES
