Singapore share prices closed 1.54 percent lower Friday after fears of possible hikes in global interest rates sparked a sell-off in the US, Europe and Asia, dealers said. The Straits Times Index closed down 54.74 points at 3,491.59. Volume traded was 4.25 billion shares, worth 2.67 billion dollars (1.74 billion US).
Losers beat gainers 498 to 365, with 622 issues unchanged. "The market is tracking falls in the US," a dealer with a local brokerage said. Dealers said the market is likely to continue taking its cue from Wall Street next week in the absence of any fresh domestic buying catalysts. "There will be a deeper consolidation if the US market drops further," the local brokerage dealer said.
Losses in heavyweight stocks dragged the index lower. Singapore Airlines was down 0.30 at 18.20, ST Engineering retreated 0.08 to 3.50, Singapore Press Holdings fell 0.02 to 4.32 and Singapore Telecommunications shed 0.06 to 3.44. For the banks, DBS Group Holdings slipped 0.60 to 23.20, United Overseas Bank dropped 0.50 to 22.90 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp was off 0.10 to 9.40.
In the property sector, CapitaLand was down 0.10 at 7.90, City Developments lost 0.60 to 16.70 but Keppel Land gained 0.15 to 9.35. Among technology stocks, United Test Assembly Center was up 0.045 at 1.04, Venture slipped 0.30 to 15.40 and Chartered Semiconductor was down 0.02 at 1.33.