Singapore shares closed 2.61 percent lower on Monday as traders took a breather from recent strong gains and searched for fresh market leads. The blue chip Straits Times Index (STI) fell 62.65 points to 2,333.70 on volume of 3.59 billion shares worth 1.68 billion Singapore dollars (1.15 billion US). Losers led gainers 509 to 127, with 629 issues unchanged.
The STI was catching its breath after hefty gains made over the past few weeks, dealers said. "The market will be pausing to look at second-quarter earnings and of course the state of the global recovery," said the research head at a foreign brokerage.
DBS Vickers said in a note it expects Singapore shares "to pause for a breather in June following three months of gains that started in March this year, but the major rising trend remains intact." Banking shares closed lower, with DBS falling 44 cents to 12.34, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp dipping 11 cents to 7.19 and United Overseas Bank easing 14 cents to 15.26.
Among property stocks, City Developments tumbled 64 cents to 8.95, CapitaLand slid 14 cents to 3.71 and Keppel Land shed 20 cents to 2.34. Singapore Airlines bucked the downtrend by rising four cents to 12.78, but Singapore Telecommunications fell six cents to 2.98. Beverage-maker Fraser and Neave closed 29 cents lower at 3.68 while motor vehicle firm Jardine Cycle and Carriage gained 20 cents to 17.80.
Comments
Comments are closed.