Singapore stocks drop as lenders drag

Singapore's smallest listed lender United Overseas Bank fell 2.1 percent despite posting a 5.5 percent increase in its second-quarter net profit.

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SGX Logo. Reuters

Singapore stocks fell as much as 1 percent on Friday, dragged by financials such as OCBC Bank and DBS Group Holdings.

Most other Southeast Asian stock markets were subdued, in line with broader Asian shares after a tech-stock driven slide on Wall Street.

The Straits Times Index pared some of its losses to end 0.71 percent lower or down 24 points at 3,330. It closed 0.54 percent higher on Thursday, taking the year-to-date gains to 16.5 percent.

Singapore's smallest listed lender United Overseas Bank fell 2.1 percent despite posting a 5.5 percent increase in its second-quarter net profit.

The results came a day after larger lender Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp beat market expectations with a 22 percent jump in its net profit to the highest level in almost three years.

Other lenders also declined: Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. fell 1.2 percent while DBS Group Holdings lost 2.4 percent.

DBS, Southeast Asia's largest bank, will report earnings on August 4.

Malaysian property developer Aspen Group Holdings fell as much as 2 percent upon listing on Friday. Catalist-listed firm's shares opened at S$0.225 compared to their offer price of S$0.23, data from the Singapore Stock Exchange showed.

Among the gainers, shares of Wilmar International added 0.9 percent after saying it would invest USD120 million in Mumbai-based Shree Renuka Sugars.

Singapore Exchange shares gained 0.7 percent after its full-year net profit fell 2 percent, weighed down by lower revenue and weak performance in its derivatives business.

About 2.8 billion shares worth S$1.3 billion changed hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 275 to 171.

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