STI falls 0.2% as local banks end lower
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Across the broader market, gainers edge out losers 298 to 288, after 1.9 billion securities change hands.
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
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Tay Peck Gek
- Singapore's Straits Times Index fell 0.2% to 5,002.72 on April 22. Local banks weighed heavily due to investor fears of a prolonged Middle East war.
- Singtel was STI's worst performer, down 1.6%. Hong Leong Asia rose 7.3% after acquiring a bomb shelter supplier on the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index.
- Gainers slightly outnumbered losers in Singapore's broader market. Regional indexes showed mixed performance, reflecting widespread worries over the US-Iran conflict.
AI generated
SINGAPORE - Singapore stocks ended lower on April 22, weighed down by the trio of local banks amid investor concerns of a lengthy Middle East war.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) lost 0.2 per cent, or 12.24 points, to finish at 5,002.72.
DFI Retail Group was the STI’s biggest gainer, rising 4.6 per cent, or 19 US cents, to US$4.35.
The worst performer among the index’s 30 constituents was Singtel, which fell 1.6 per cent, or eight cents, to $4.78.
The local lenders all ended lower. DBS Bank slid 0.5 per cent, or 28 cents, to $57.20; OCBC Bank fell 0.1 per cent, or two cents, to $22.59; and UOB dropped 0.7 per cent, or 25 cents, to $37.02.
Over on the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, Hong Leong Asia was the top performer, rising 7.3 per cent, or 23 cents, to finish at $3.40. The diversified Asian multinational with core businesses in powertrain solutions and building materials announced on April 21 that it had acquired a bomb shelter supplier.
Pawnshop operator ValueMax was the index’s biggest decliner, falling 1.7 per cent, or two cents, to $1.15.
Across the broader market, gainers edged out losers 298 to 288, after 1.9 billion securities worth $2.1 billion changed hands.
Key regional indexes were mixed on April 22. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.4 per cent, and South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.5 per cent. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 1.2 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 0.3 per cent.
Private banking and asset management group LGT said investors are concerned that the conflict between the US and Iran could be prolonged, despite US President Donald Trump’s decision to extend the two-week ceasefire while maintaining a naval blockade. THE BUSINESS TIMES
