Singapore shares drop in tandem with regional bourses; STI down 0.1%

Singapore stocks closed lower on Thursday (Nov 12), with the Straits Times Index (STI) declining by 0.1 percent or 6.96 points to settle at 5,282.7. Among the blue-chip index gainers, S$4.17, led by Sats. The air cargo handler and airline caterer reported a 2.8 percent increase in net profit to S$81.1 million for the second quarter ended Sep 30.

However, City Developments Ltd (CDL) was the worst performer among STI constituents, falling by 6.7 percent or S$0.48 to S$6.64, hitting a one-year low earlier in the day. The drop was attributed to adverse foreign-exchange movements and potential property impairment, leading to a lackluster outlook for the second half. The three local banks ended mixed on Thursday, with DBS up by 0.04 percent or S$0.03 to S$71, UOB up by 0.5 percent or S$0.19 at S$37.77, while OCBC slipped by 0.5 percent or S$0.15 to S$28.67.

Within the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, NTT DC Reit saw the biggest gain, rising by 3.3 percent or US$0.03 to US$0.93, while PC Partner experienced the largest decline, falling by 8.8 percent or S$0.19 to S$1.96. Across the broader market, gainers trailed losers 224 to 338, following the exchange of 1.1 billion securities valued at S$1.7 billion.

The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index declined by 1.3 percent, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell by 0.7 percent, South Korea's Kospi was down by 0.6 percent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dropped by 0.6 percent.