Singapore shares drift lower on weak global cues

About 874 million shares worth S$483 million changed hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 253 to110.

SGX
An office worker walks past a logo of SGX outside its premises in Singapore. Reuters

Singapore equities edged lower on Wednesday, tracking lackluster Asian shares following a global selloff in technology stocks. Tech rout weighed on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index after a new cyberattack affected more than 200,000 companies globally.

At 06:25 GMT, the Straits Times Index fell 0.17 percent or 6.5 points to 3,214. It ended 0.31 percent higher on Tuesday, taking the year-to-date gains to 12 percent.

Among the gainers, Croesus Retail Trust jumped 11 percent after U.S. private equity firm Blackstone agreed to buy the real estate firm for about S$900 million. Technology hardware maker Disa rose 8.3 percent.

The losers included Golden Agri-Resources and Jardine Cycle & Carriage, which fell 2.6 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively. About 874 million shares worth S$483 million changed hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 253 to 110.

Asian shares were mostly down following a weak handover from Wall Street after the U.S. Senate's move to delay voting on a healthcare reform bill rekindled worries on the timeline for President Donald Trump's pro-growth policies.

The dollar held on to losses after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled the U.S. economy can withstand higher interest rates.

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