Singapore shares extended their slide yesterday as fears of a resurgence of the coronavirus and a Wall Street retreat continued to dampen investor sentiment.
Britain is imposing new curbs on pubs, bars and restaurants in a bid to tackle a second wave of infections, and Hong Kong has extended social distancing measures for another week on the back of fears of a "silent transmission chain" in the community.
Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley said yesterday: "One of the dangers to the global recovery would be the imposition - again - of national-level lockdowns in major developed economies. That risk appears to be rising, unfortunately.
"The tone of the week suggests that investors are looking for rallies to sell, not buy into, with the balance of probabilities implying deeper corrections to come."
There is also concern that tighter banking restrictions are in play after new evidence that they have failed to stop suspicious transactions in recent years.
The higher levels of anxiety among already unnerved investors sent the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) slipping 22.42 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 2,463.29 on trade of 1.3 billion securities worth $1.31 billion, with losers outnumbering gainers 236 to 201.
The trio of lenders were among the day's biggest losers. DBS fell 1.25 per cent to $19.74, United Overseas Bank lost 0.99 per cent to $19.01, and OCBC Bank closed 0.71 per cent lower at $8.41.
Aviation-related stocks also saw declines. Singapore Airlines shed 1.75 per cent to $3.36 and gateway services provider Sats ended the day at $2.76, down 2.13 per cent.
Only five of the 30 STI constituent stocks ended the day in the green. Jardine Matheson Holdings was the top advancer for the second consecutive day, gaining 1.29 per cent to US$41.70.
Genting Singapore was also among the winners, rising 0.74 per cent to end the day at 68 cents, with 16.2 million shares traded.
CapitaLand real estate investment trusts were among the biggest constituent decliners.
CapitaLand Commercial Trust tumbled 4.05 per cent to $1.66, and CapitaLand Mall Trust closed 2.97 per cent lower at $1.96.
Around the region, stock markets ended the day mixed.
Malaysian shares rose 0.42 per cent and Japan's Nikkei 225 inched up 0.18 per cent, but the Hang Seng dipped 0.98 per cent.
South Korea's Kospi was the biggest loser, diving 2.38 per cent, its sharpest decline in a month.
The Australian market lost 0.7 per cent to leave it at a three-month low with energy, financial and mining stocks taking a hit.
