Singapore shares fall; OCBC, UOB lead STI’s 1.6% decline on Wednesday

In Singapore, stocks mirrored regional declines and closed lower on Wednesday (Oct 7). The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 1.6 percent, or 93.1 points, to reach 5,608.44. The major contributors to the decline were OCBC, which dropped 5.9 percent to S$30.30, and UOB, which decreased 2.9 percent to S$42.44. DBS also experienced a loss, falling 1.4 percent to S$77.49.

Citi analyst Tan Yong Hong recently downgraded his recommendation on OCBC to "sell" from "neutral" and kept his "sell" call on UOB. He cited potential lower than expected third-quarter results for the banks, due to possible overestimation of Singdollar rates, in particular after an exceptional first-half wealth-related income. Despite this, Hong Kong Land led the gainers with a 2.7 percent increase.

Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 270 to 269, with a trading volume of 1.2 billion shares worth S$2.8 billion. OCBC had the highest trading value, with 27.1 million shares worth S$831.3 million changing hands. Within the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, First Resources topped gains, climbing 5.5 percent, while Top Glove saw the biggest decline at 3.6 percent.

In other regions, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.6 percent, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.9 percent, South Korea's Kospi was down 2 percent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 1.3 percent. Vishnu Varathan, head of Asia-Pacific macro strategy at Mizuho Securities, warned about underestimating global bond market stress and contagion risks.

He pointed out that conventional risk indicators may not fully capture the current scale and complexity of financial uncertainties.