Singapore stocks fall on Monday; STI down 2.2%

[SINGAPORE] Singapore stocks ended lower on Monday (Mar 23), mirroring regional peers.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) lost 2.2 per cent or 107.57 points to finish at 4,841.30. Meanwhile, the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index gained 0.1 per cent or 1.2 points to 1,465.98.

Within the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, Frencken Group was the biggest decliner, falling 7.2 per cent or S$0.15 to finish at S$1.93. There were no gainers on the index on Monday.

Across the broader market, gainers trailed losers 144 to 554, after 2.1 billion securities worth S$2.8 billion changed hands.

Key regional indices were negative. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 3.5 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 3.5 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi was down 6.5 per cent.

Sembcorp Industries was the only gainer on Singapore’s blue-chip index, rising 2.6 per cent or S$0.16 to end at S$6.31.

The worst performer among STI constituents was Singtel, falling 5.4 per cent or S$0.28 to close at S$4.93. The telco was once again hit with user reports of disruption on Monday after three consecutive days of issues last week.

The local banks all ended lower. DBS lost 1.7 per cent or S$0.98 to S$56.42, OCBC fell 1.7 per cent or S$0.37 to finish at S$21, and UOB was down 2.2 per cent or S$0.80 at S$36.38.

Markets are increasingly pricing in higher inflation and slower growth aside from energy disruption, said Neil Wilson, market strategist at Saxo. Now markets are also expressing war fears through stocks and bonds other than crude and gas prices, as bond markets roiled last week.

The markets are starting to wake up to the gravity of the potential for long-term impact on energy markets.

“I’ve repeatedly stressed that markets were under-pricing the risks for a variety of reasons and showed a degree of complacency about the war, but markets are starting to take notice,” said Wilson.