Singapore shares fall on Tuesday amid regional slump; STI down 0.4%
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.Singapore stocks fell on Tuesday, with the Straits Times Index dropping 0.4% amid a regional slump. Local banks declined, while Yangzijiang Shipbuilding led gainers. Broader market activity saw losers outnumbering gainers. Regional indices in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia also posted losses. Analysts cited concerns over a potential yen carry-trade unwind due to Bank of Japan rate hikes and US Federal Reserve policy as key drivers for global equity pressure.
[SINGAPORE] Singapore stocks ended lower on Tuesday (Sep 8).
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) lost 0.4 per cent or 24.83 points to finish at 5,767.45.
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding led the gainers on Singapore’s blue-chip index, rising 4 per cent or S$0.20 to S$5.14.
The worst performer among STI constituents was UOL Group , which fell 3.8 per cent or S$0.35 to S$8.78.
The local banks all ended lower. DBS declined 0.5 per cent or S$0.37 to S$78.10, OCBC fell 0.6 per cent or S$0.18 to S$31.70, and UOB was down 0.4 per cent or S$0.15 at S$41.60.
Within the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, the top gainers were Frencken Group , which rose 2.5 per cent or S$0.06 to S$2.46, and Top Glove , which was up 2.5 per cent or S$0.005 at S$0.205.
Centurion Corporation was the biggest loser, falling 3.1 per cent or S$0.05 to S$1.54.
Across the broader market, losers beat gainers 340 to 215, after one billion securities worth S$1.7 billion changed hands.
Addvalue Tech was the most actively traded stock, with 89.8 million shares changing hands. DBS was the most actively traded stock in terms of value, with 2.7 million shares worth S$211.1 million traded.
Key regional indices were negative. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.4 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.7 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.6 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 0.02 per cent.
On worries about a potential carry-trade unwind, Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, said: “If the Bank of Japan hikes rates this month... and if the US Federal Reserve remains silent amid political pressure, (which) will likely become unbearable into the November midterm elections, the risk of a yen carry-trade unwind will become louder.”
“That means we could see the Japanese yen strengthen further, US Treasury yields rise and global equity indices fall in a rapid move,” she added.
“Investors will be watching... the US Treasury starting to buy more US bonds, US inflation, Japanese rate policy intentions into next week’s meeting and stress levels regarding the mounting risk of a yen carry-trade unwind across global markets, before deciding where markets should be heading next.”
This article was written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a reporter