The Straits Times Index (STI) experienced a notable drop of 1.1% or 38.39 points on August 2, closing at 3,381.45, largely influenced by a significant slide in Seatrium\u2019s stock and a broader downturn in global markets. The local market saw 422 stocks decline compared to 199 that advanced, with trading volumes reaching 1.3 billion shares valued at $1.7 billion.<\/p>\n
The decline in the STI was precipitated by a combination of factors, including disappointing earnings reports from Seatrium and negative sentiment following a turbulent session on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 500 points, or 1.2%, while the Nasdaq dropped 2.3% and the S&P 500 recorded its largest intraday swing since November 2022, ending 1.4% lower. This global market retreat set a somber tone for regional exchanges.<\/p>\n
Regional indices mirrored the global slump. Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng index plummeted 2.1%, South Korea\u2019s Kospi tumbled 3.7%, and Japan\u2019s Nikkei 225 saw a steep decline of 5.8%. Malaysian markets also fell by 0.8%, while Australian stocks suffered their worst day in nearly two years, closing down 2.1%.<\/p>\n
In Singapore, Seatrium, a key offshore and marine player, was the STI\u2019s biggest loser, plummeting 11.3% to $1.49 despite reporting a profit of $36 million for the first half of the year, a reversal from its previous loss. This drop in Seatrium\u2019s stock significantly contributed to the overall decline of the STI.<\/p>\n
On a positive note, Pan-Asia retailer DFI Retail Group saw its stock rise by 2.3% to US$1.78, driven by more than doubling its underlying profit to US$75.6 million for the six months ending June 30.<\/p>\n
Local banks also faced pressure, with DBS Bank slipping 1.9% to $35.31, OCBC Bank falling slightly by 0.1% to $14.80, and UOB decreasing by 0.7% to $31.83. Analysts from RHB noted that UOB\u2019s capital retention strategy has led to more muted growth in yields and dividends, which may be a concern for investors seeking income during a period of declining interest rates.<\/p>\n
The combined effect of international market trends and local corporate performance underscores a challenging environment for investors as they navigate through a period of economic uncertainty and market volatility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In Singapore, Seatrium, a key offshore and marine player, was the STI\u2019s biggest loser, plummeting 11.3% to $1.49 despite reporting a profit of $36 million for the first half of the year, a reversal from its previous loss. This drop in Seatrium\u2019s stock significantly contributed to the overall decline of the STI.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":413,"featured_media":27665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[12974,15776,6826,12255,15775,15426,15774,249,15453],"class_list":["post-27655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-singapore","tag-international-market","tag-marine","tag-market-trends","tag-offshore-oilfield","tag-pan-asia","tag-retailer-inventory","tag-seatrium","tag-singapore","tag-sti"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/413"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}