Singapore shares decline amid mixed showing in Asian bourses
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The Straits Times Index ended 10.53 points or 0.3 per cent lower at 3,179.58 with gainers beating losers 255 to 247.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE – Sluggish trade numbers out of China that raised concerns about its economy left regional markets in a state of flux on Wednesday and nudged local shares down a tad.
The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 10.53 points, or 0.3 per cent, lower at 3,179.58 with gainers beating losers 255 to 247 on the broader market after 1.1 billion shares worth $948.6 million changed hands.
The poor Chinese export numbers came in after a positive session on Wall Street overnight, with all three major indices recording modest gains and inching closer to an end to the longest bear market since the 1940s.
International investors turned a wary eye towards the China data shocker on Wednesday, even as the World Bank warned that the global economy faced headwinds going into 2024 due to higher interest rates and the possibility of more upheaval among struggling banks.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes pointed to China’s export value declining sharply in May, significantly below consensus forecast, in both year-over-year and sequential terms.
“The data is getting framed with a tinge of geopolitical risk overtones as China’s Customs commented that the decline of exports to the United States and Japan might be the potential driver behind weaker exports,” said Mr Innes.
The local banking trio was a mixed bag. DBS Group Holdings slid 0.9 per cent to $30.89 and OCBC slipped 0.2 per cent to $12.33 while UOB eked out a 0.04 per cent increase to $28.13.
Singapore banks were so flush with deposits that DBS was said to be loaning the central bank $30 billion as it is “not finding enough opportunities to put the money to work”.
Singapore Post shares, which have been on a downward trajectory since the company announced a 70.3 per cent plunge in full-year net profit in May, hit a 52-week low at 43 cents after dipping 2.3 per cent.
The firm is reviewing the commercial sustainability of its domestic postal business as losses in the operations weighed on its bottom line. THE BUSINESS TIMES
