Singapore shares tumble to lowest in more than 4 years
SINGAPORE'S blue chip Straits Times Index tumbled to its lowest in more than four years on Wednesday amid nagging concerns over crude oil prices and the faltering Chinese economy.
The STI fell to 2,560.94, and was trading around 2,562.43 at 1:11pm, down 76.04 points, or almost 3 per cent, from the previous day's close. This is the lowest level seen since July 2011. Losers led gainers by 310 to 53.
Sembcorp Marine and its parent company Sembcorp Industries were in active trading in the morning following rumours of a full takeover by the parent firm or just an injection of funds into Sembcorp Marine. Other losers included DBS, SingTel and property-related Capitaland.
Crude oil prices are currently trading near 45 year lows, with Brent around US$27 a barrel.
"Prices have been lower in everyday (nominal) terms of course, but adjusted for inflation, a barrel of Brent now costs less than at anytime since 1973, save for late-1998 when Brent briefly sold for US$16 a barrel in today's prices,'' David Carbon, an analysts at DBS said.
As for China, uncertainty over its stimulus measures remain a key wild card that could add more volatility to global risk appetite and keep the markets in a cautious mood, market watchers said.
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