STI slides 1.8% as Middle East strikes spark market retreat

Other Asian markets declined as well.

The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 88.34 points, or 1.77%, to 4,906.73 as at 12:22 pm on March 2.

The index opened at 4,912.72, below its previous close of 4,995.07. It traded between a high of 4,920.20 and a low of 4,875.59 during the session.

At 10:18:10 am, the STI was at 4,885.53, with cumulative traded volume of about 1.65 billion units.

The decline in trade came amidst geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran will affect energy prices and impact countries beyond the region, including Singapore.

Several major stocks were lower. DFI Retail Group slid 4.30% to 4.01, whilst CapitaLand Investment dropped 2.29% to 2.99.

Meanwhile, DBS Group fell 1.94% to 56.01. City Developments declined 1.94% to 9.63.

The benchmark remains below its 52-week high of 5,041.33 and above its 52-week low of 3,393.69.

Meanwhile, key Asian markets were also lower. Mainland China’s CSI 300 Index slipped 0.1% to 4,706.10 as of 11:30 am Beijing time.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.58% at 12:05 pm local time. Japan’s JPX-Nikkei Index 400 went down 1.18% to 35,206.56 as of 1:43 pm Tokyo time.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 decreased 0.12% to 9,187.40 in late afternoon trade.

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