Singapore's key share index ended a touch lower on Thursday, weighed down by a US broker's downgrade of Chartered Semiconductor, one of the worlds largest supplier of custom-built microchips.
The Straits Times Index lost 3.34 points, or 0.18 percent, to end at 1,867.56 points. The index had slipped earlier to 1,856.37. In the broader market, losers led gainers by 166 to 139 in heavy trade of 562 million shares.
Dealers said technology stocks were already under selling pressure, hit by Wednesday's fall of their US peers, when Citigroup's Smith Barney delivered the downgrade early on Thursday.
Smith Barney said that with the semiconductor industry nearing a peak in its recent upcycle, it had downgraded its recommendation on Chartered Semiconductor to a sell from buy and cut its one-year local price target to S$0.87 from S$2.6.
Chartered Semiconductor ended down five cents, or 3.79 percent, at S$1.27.
Andrew Lu, Smith Barney analyst in Taipei, said the downgrade was based on some early indicators flagging an inventory build-up in the semiconductor sector, suggesting the sector was nearing a peak in its recent upcycle.
Smith Barney also downgraded the world's first and second largest contract manufacturers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corp (UMC).
The Smith Barney move followed downgrades of tech companies by Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, fuelled by fears that a consumer-led electronics boom was fading.
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