Singapore shares closed 3.73 percent lower on Friday after sentiment dimmed and wiped out earlier gains, dealers said. The blue chip Straits Times Index closed at a four-year low, down 72.69 points to 1,878.51 on volume of 1.23 billion shares worth 1.22 billion dollars (826 million US).
Losers led gainers 338 to 178 with 814 unchanged. One trader said that, following news that governments world-wide were bailing out banks, "there's nothing else to look forward to with recession prospects looming in the US. Sentiment is not good. It's not time to buy." Dealers said the weak market conditions offset news that the Singapore government set aside 150 billion dollars to guarantee all bank deposits in the city-state until the end of 2010.
Investors may have been waiting for more details on the initiative, dealers said. DBS bank was down 84 cents at 13.00 Singapore dollars, while counterpart UOB fell 24 cents to 14.76, and OCBC dropped 22 cents to 6.10. Agribusiness giant Wilmar International was off 14 cents at 2.06. Neptune Orient Lines eased 12 cents to 1.50 and Singapore Airlines ended two cents lower at 12.38. Property giant CapitaLand bucked the trend, rising five cents to 2.85.
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