Singapore shares ended at five-week lows on Thursday after sharp losses on Wall Street unnerved investors and prompted a sell-off in banks and blue chips.
Comments from Finance Minister Lee Hsien Loong that Singapore's economy was likely to expand at a rate near the top end of the government's forecast for 3.5 to 5.5 percent growth in 2004 were outweighed by concerns over the soundness of the US economic recovery after data unveiled a record trade deficit.
"The blue chips such as Venture are tumbling fairly sharply and the selling has filtered to second liners," said John Yap, director at UOB Kay Hian Pte Ltd.
"We expected bargain hunters to come in but that didn't happen. With the close of reporting season, there is some concern that prices are fully valued."
The key Straits Times index (STI) ended down 1.45 percent, or 27.24 points, at 1,847.78 - its lowest close since February 5. This is the fifth straight day of losses for the STI.
The index has risen 4.7 percent since the start of the 2004 but is down some 28 percent from an all-time high of 2,582.94 hit on January 3, 2000.
"The STI right now is going through a technical correction. We are looking at a support of 1,760 over the next four to six weeks," said Johnson Yuen, technical analyst at DBS Vickers Securities.
Among losers were blue chips and techs. DBS Group Holdings fell 0.71 percent to S$14.00 while United Overseas Bank shed 2.14 percent to S$13.70. Keppel Corp was down 2.03 percent at S$7.25 while contract electronics manufacturer Venture Corp sank 3.54 percent to S$19.10.
The debuts of Aqua-Terra Supply Co and I'M Technologies failed to lift the broader market, which saw losers thrash gainers 249 to 94 as share turnover rose to about 817 million from Wednesday's 686 million.
Topping actives was debutant Aqua-Terra Supply, which is involved in distributing a wide range of consumable products used by companies in industries such as oil and gas.
The stock settled at 37.5 Singapore cents, above its initial public offering (IPO) price of 23 cents each, on brisk turnover of some 49 million shares.
I'M Technologies, which supplies smart card operating systems for the mobile phone industry, was also active on its debut. The stock ended at 30.5 Singapore cents, above its IPO price of 28 cents each, with 46 million shares changing hands.