Elevated crude prices rein in Singapore shares performance; STI down 0.3%

[SINGAPORE] Elevated crude prices reined in the performance of Singapore shares on Friday (Mar 13) as the Strait of Hormuz – the passageway that handles a fifth of the world’s oil used for transportation – remains effectively shut.

Both the Straits Times Index (STI) and iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index closed lower, by 13.06 points or 0.3 per cent at 4,842.27, and 0.1 per cent or 1.57 points at 1,443.55, respectively.

The STI was 0.1 per cent lower than a week ago.

Defence and technology powerhouse ST Engineering was the worst STI performer at S$10.88, as it ended with a 2.4 per cent or S$0.27 drop.

DFI Retail Group was at the other end of the spectrum, having risen 4.2 per cent or US$0.19 to US$4.69.

The banking trio all ended lower. OCBC closed 0.6 per cent or S$0.12 lower at S$20.63, and DBS inched down 0.1 per cent or S$0.06 to S$55.31. UOB dipped 0.2 per cent or S$0.08 to S$36.16.

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Satellite communications company Addvalue Technologies rose 2.5 per cent or S$0.002 to S$0.081, after the mainboard-listed company announced plans to unlock market value from its Inter-Satellite Data Relay System (IDRS) business.

Decliners beat gainers 313 to 266 across the broader market, with 1.4 billion securities worth S$1.8 billion transacted.

Private banking and asset management group LGT said investors remained unsettled by the war in the Middle East, as elevated oil prices – owing to output cannot be transported out via the effectively closed Strait of Hormuz – fanned inflation fears.