Singapore shares falter on subdued Asia; Noble tumbles 7%

Singapore stocks fell on Tuesday, tracking weakness in other Asian equities following disappointing China data.

sgx trader
A trader looks at electronic screens on the dealing floor at DBS Bank's new headquarters in Singapore. REUTERS

Singapore stocks fell on Tuesday, tracking weakness in other Asian equities following disappointing China data.

China's retail sales rose 10 percent on the year in October, while industrial output grew 6.2 percent. Both came in under market forecasts and nudged down the Australian dollar, which is often used as a liquid proxy for China wagers, Reuters reported.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.1 percent after two sessions of declines.

Investors are awaiting clues on monetary policy from heads of some major central banks at a European Central Bank conference on Tuesday.

At 0340 GMT, the Straits Times Index dipped 0.6 percent or 20 points to 3,398. It ended 0.03 percent lower on Monday, taking the year-to-date performance to about 19 percent.

United Overseas Bank lost 0.8 percent, Oversea-Chinese Bank declined 0.3 percent while DBS Group Holdings lost 0.5 percent.

Noble Group plunged 7 percent after its co-Chief Executive Jeff Frase resigned in the wake of the sale of the company's oil business.

Singapore-based agribusiness giant Wilmar International declined 4.2 percent after it posted a near 6 percent drop in third-quarter profit, hurt by weaker results in the tropical oils and sugar businesses.

Golden Agri-Resources, a producer of crude palm oil and palm kernel, dropped 1.3 percent after it eported a 71 percent slump in third-quarter profit due to the recognition of deferred tax income in the previous period.

But MoneyMax Financial climbed 3 percent after its unit Cash Online plans to acquire stakes in 13 entities that carry out pawn broking business in Malaysia for RM56.6 million (S$18.3 million).

Shares in Cosco Shipping, a provider of ship building and marine engineering services, jumped as much as 11 percent to a record high of S$0.61.

About 1.4 billion shares worth S$674 million changed hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 300 to 94.

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