Across the broader market, losers outnumber gainers 372 to 220, as 1.1 billion securities worth S$1.2 billion change hands
SINGAPORE shares ended lower on Thursday (Jul 25), tracking losses in the region.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.9 per cent or 30.37 points to 3,430.45. Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 372 to 220, after 1.1 billion securities worth S$1.2 billion changed hands.
Key indices in the region traded lower. The Nikkei 225 lost 3.3 per cent, the Hang Seng Index fell 1.8 per cent, the Kospi Composite Index was down 1.7 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI closed 0.4 per cent lower.
The declines mirrored overnight losses on Wall Street.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, noted that underwhelming results from Tesla and Alphabet painted US equity markets red overnight.
She added that rising expectations for interest rate cuts are also not positive for the Big Tech stocks, as these behemoths were seen as a safe place to hide when the rates were high and their advance could wane due to a sector rotation.
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Therefore, a tech sell-off – combined with lower interest rates – is expected to boost appetite for small caps and the dullest pockets of the market such as consumer staples, healthcare and utilities, she said.
On the STI, Seatrium was the biggest decliner, falling 3.3 per cent or S$0.05 to S$1.47.
Venture Corp was the top gainer, rising 0.7 per cent or S$0.10 to S$15.
The local banking trio ended lower. DBS fell 0.5 per cent or S$0.20 to S$36.54, OCBC lost 1.5 per cent or S$0.22 to S$14.89, and UOB was down 1.2 per cent or S$0.38 to S$32.50.
