Singapore’s blue-chip index down 0.7% on Wednesday as oil hits US$100 a barrel
Across the broader market, losers beat gainers 297 to 235, as 1.1b securities worth S$1.9b change hands
On Wednesday (Sep 9), Singapore's blue-chip index, the Straits Times Index (STI), closed 0.7% lower at 5,729.63 points as mounting tensions in the US-Iran conflict drove Brent crude oil prices above US$100 a barrel. The index saw 297 losers for every 235 gainers, with a total of S$1.9 billion worth of securities changing hands. The worst-performing blue-chip stock was Jardine Matheson, which declined 1.8% to US$57.63.
Major local banks DBS, OCBC, and UOB also ended the day in the red, with declines of 0.8%, 1.1%, and 1% respectively. However, DFI Retail Group emerged as the top gainer in the STI, rising 1.7% to US$3.68. In the broader market, semiconductor leader AEM led the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index with a 4.5% gain, while Top Glove, a glovemaker, saw the biggest decline with a 3.4% drop.
Regional markets were mixed, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and Japan's Nikkei 225 Index both falling by 0.2%, while South Korea's Kospi gained 1.4%. The varied performance came as Brent crude oil futures exceeded US$100 per barrel for the first time since July, raising concerns about potential disruptions in tanker shipping. Investors, wary of geopolitical and macroeconomic risks, were less inclined to chase equity markets higher, according to Saxo's UK investor strategist Neil Wilson.
Meanwhile, bond yields also faced pressure, with the 10-year US Treasury yield at 4.8% and the 10-year UK gilt yield nearing 5.2%.
Written by urgent.news from The Business Times - Companies & Markets's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
