Singapore shares closed 1.54 percent lower Monday, dragged down by tumbling property stocks after the government announced new measures to curb real estate speculation. The blue chip Straits Times Index fell 41.29 points to 2,639.74 on volume of 2.40 billion shares worth 1.79 billion Singappore dollars (1.25 billion US) Decliners outnumbered risers 452 to 118, with 675 issues unchanged.
Property stocks led the decline after the government announced fresh measures to curb speculation in the red-hot real estate market, following warnings that a new bubble might be forming despite an economic slowdown. Li Hiaw Ho, executive director of property advisers CB Richard Ellis in Singapore, said the key measures were curbs on bank lending to finance property purchases.
"This would remove much of the speculative element from the burgeoning sales volume," Li said. Among property stocks, CapitaLand dropped 15 cents to 3.72 dollars, Keppel Land eased 17 cents to 2.66 and City Developments was down 84 cents to 10.24. Banks also tumbled, with DBS falling 18 cents to 12.92, United Overseas Bank dropping 16 cents to 16.70 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp closing nine cents lower at 7.74. Singapore Telecom was down four cents to 3.16 and Singapore Airlines ended 50 cents weaker at 12.96.