DBS Group shares drag SGX lower

Singapore stocks fell on Friday, dragged lower by biggest lender DBS Group Holdings after the company flagged worries over asset quality.

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Singapore stocks fell on Friday, dragged lower by biggest lender DBS Group Holdings after the company flagged worries over asset quality.

The Straits Times Index lost 0.42 percent or 14 points to 3,329. It ended 0.18 percent lower on Thursday, taking the year-to-date gains to 16 percent.

Index heavyweight DBS fell 2.5 percent after the lender said asset quality pressures will continue and the risk of heightened credit costs in the oil and gas support services sector will persist with low oil prices.

Singapore Post, which provides domestic and international postal services, dropped 0.8 percent after posting a 13.6 percent drop in first-quarter profit due to lower domestic mail volumes, higher costs and increased competition.

Utility services provider Sembcorp Industries lost 1.6 percent after its net profit fell 36.1 percent in the second-quarter, hurt by weak performance of its marine business.

Among the gainers, shares in property investment firm Hongkong Land Holdings gained 2.6 percent after it reported a 148 percent surge in first-half net profit to US$3.13 billion.

CapitaLand's unit the Ascott will be investing S$170.3 million to develop co-living space at Singapore's prime property Funan. Shares in CapitaLand rose 3.7 percent to S$3.88.

Trading in TT International shares were suspended as the consumer electronics retailer figures out its funding options amidst creditors' demands.

About 1.8 billion shares worth S$1.3 billion changed hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 243 to 215.

Meanwhile, stocks in Asia inched up ahead of U.S. job data later in the day.

The Labor Department's closely watched employment report will probably show that non-farm payrolls increased by 183,000 jobs last month after surging 222,000 in June, according to a Reuters survey of economists.

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