STI slips 0.8% amid regional sell-off after Trump’s latest tariff escalation

Property developer UOL is the STI’s top gainer, rising 2.4% or S$0.19 to S$8.15

Shares on the Singapore bourse closed lower on Monday (Oct 13), tracking regional losses as investors digested news of US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff escalation against China.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) slipped 0.8 per cent, or 37.22 points, to 4,389.84.

Property developer UOL was the STI’s top gainer, rising 2.4 per cent or S$0.19 to S$8.15. The biggest decliner was Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, which fell 3.5 per cent or S$0.12 to S$3.28.

Genting Singapore was the most actively traded STI counter by volume, with 52 million shares worth S$37.2 million changing hands. It fell 1.4 per cent or S$0.01 to S$0.715.

All three local banks ended in the red: DBS dropped 0.8 per cent or S$0.45 to S$53.40, OCBC slipped 0.7 per cent or S$0.11 to S$16.77, and UOB lost 1.1 per cent or S$0.40 to S$34.93.

Across the broader market, decliners outnumbered advancers 440 to 209, with total turnover at S$1.7 billion.

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Vasu Menon, managing director, investment strategy at OCBC, said: “The latest rift between the US and China is likely to cause greater market volatility, and investors must brace themselves for a choppy ride.

“What’s more important is that the medium-term outlook remains positive, and investors should not lose sight of this.”

For those with the risk appetite and the ability to withstand volatility, sharp pullbacks can offer investment opportunities, he added.

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Elsewhere in Asia, key indices also ended lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index shed 1.5 per cent or 400.84 points to 25,889.48, while the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.2 per cent or 7.53 points to 3,889.50.

Markets in Japan were closed for a public holiday.