SGX falls 1% after gaining for four days; Lenders, industrials drag

sgx
Reuters

Singapore shares ended lower after four consecutive sessions of gains on Thursday, dragged lower by financials and industrials.

Asian shares held near record highs following a deal to end a U.S. government shutdown while the dollar struggled after U.S Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin welcomed a weaker currency.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat after hitting an all-time peak for the ninth session in a row. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.9 percent, hit by the dollar's decline against the yen, Reuters data showed.

The Straits Times Index lost 1.01 percent or 37 points to 3,572. It ended 0.48 percent higher on Wednesday, taking the year-to-date gains to about 6 percent.

Also Read: Singapore jumps to 3rd spot in 2018 Bloomberg Innovation Index

The city-state's top lenders Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and United Overseas Bank closed down 1.4 percent each.

DBS Group Holdings Ltd fell for the first time in five sessions, declining as much as 1.5 percent, while Keppel Corp Ltd dropped up to 1.9 percent.

Active stocks included, QT Vascular climbing 6.2 percent to S$0.02 while Accrelist lost 14.3 percent to S$0.01 in afternoon trades.

Noble Group gained 15 percent amid report China's Cedar Holdings was interested in buying the commodities trader.

CapitaLand Commercial Trust lost 0.5 percent despite reporting a 6 percent rise in fourth-quarter distributable income.

About 2.4 billion shares worth S$1.5 billion changed hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 297 to 179.

This article was first published on January 25, 2018
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