- Losers outpace gainers 351 to 147 on trade of 1.84 billion shares.
- HK Land only STI constituent to end the session in the black.
- Asian bourses mostly down, with exception of Japan and KL .
Local shares followed Wall Street down yesterday as investors continued to grapple with concerns over rising Covid-19 cases.
The souring mood sent the Straits Times Index (STI) down 39.59 points, or 1.27 per cent, to 3,068.94 with losers outpacing gainers 351 to 147 on trade of 1.84 billion shares worth $1.38 billion.
The tone yesterday was set by Wall Street overnight with US market sentiment continuing "to revolve around the elevated virus cases and lacklustre August US jobs report", said IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong.
It made a grim day for the STI constituents with Hongkong Land Holdings the only counter to end the session in the black.
Hongkong Land rose 2.3 per cent to US$4.84 as it continued to ride on the momentum from news of its intent to invest up to US$500 million (S$673 million) to buy back its shares in a programme extending until Dec 31 next year.
Meanwhile, Keppel DC Real Estate Investment Trust was unchanged at $2.55, while Thai Beverage stayed steady at 67.5 cents.
The STI's biggest loser was Jardine Matheson Holdings, which fell 3.9 per cent to US$54.20.
Genting Singapore was the most active counter on the blue-chip index with 25 million shares changing hands. The stock fell 0.6 per cent to 78 cents.
Markets in Asia also largely tracked the weakness in the United States' reopening sectors, said Mr Yeap.
With the exception of Japan's Nikkei 225 and the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index, which both gained 0.89 per cent, other key benchmarks ended the day lower.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.12 per cent, Seoul's Kospi dipped 0.77 per cent, and the Jakarta Composite shed 1.41 per cent.
Australian shares also fell, dented by the mining and gold sectors after most commodity prices took a hit on demand crunch as the greenback strengthened.
