Local shares fell again yesterday - the third straight trading day of losses after a rise in new coronavirus infections globally stoked fears that lockdowns might be reimposed.
The wary mood left the Straits Times Index (STI) down 70.75 points, or 2.64 per cent, to 2,613.88. Losers outnumbered gainers 349 to 148, with 1.71 billion shares worth $1.82 billion traded.
Investors were rattled by the city of Beijing reporting its second consecutive day of new infections, while in the United States more than 25,000 new cases were reported last Saturday alone.
Another concern was China's factory data released yesterday. While industrial output last month rose for a second straight month, the gain was smaller than expected, suggesting the economy is struggling to get back on track.
Synagie was the top traded stock, surging 26.92 per cent to 16.5 cents on a volume of 119 million after it said it would provide end-to-end e-commerce platform store management and fulfilment services to clients of advertising giant WPP's GroupM in South-east Asia.
Top gainer Perennial Real Estate Holdings rose 36.23 per cent to 94 cents after a trading halt was lifted. Perennial is the subject of a privatisation offer at 95 cents a share.
Top loser United Overseas Bank fell 6.55 per cent to close at its intraday low of $20.82 upon trading ex-dividend. A dividend of 20 cents a share will be paid on June 29.
Regional markets were a sea of red yesterday. South Korea's Kospi plunged 4.76 per cent in the sharpest daily fall since late March.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 2.16 per cent.
China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index sank 1.02 per cent and the Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 0.29 per cent.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dived 3.47 per cent to its lowest level since May 27.
Mr Rodrigo Catril of National Australia Bank said: "As economies reopen, an increase in infection rates is to be expected. The question is whether detecting measures will be efficient enough to allow for localised containment measures without having to shut the whole economy again. China could be the template to watch here."
Oil prices extended last week's losses on fears that a second coronavirus wave could lead to new lockdowns and hit demand for the commodity again.
Traders are also keeping tabs on a technical meeting of key producers led by Russia and Saudi Arabia, with a panel discussing output cuts.
• Additional reporting by Reuters, Agence France-Presse
