STI tumbles 1% amid rout in Asia markets; Nikkei, Hang Seng fall more than 2%

Singapore stocks fell on Friday (Nov 21), mirroring a wider regional rout after markets tumbled earlier this week on fears of an artificial intelligence bubble, but dropped again on declining expectations of a rate cut.

As at 11.13 am, The Straits Times Index (STI) was down by 1 per cent or 44.4 points at 4,467.47. Losers outnumbered winners 390 to 128 as 649.1 million stocks worth S$660.6 million changed hands.

The local banks were down as at 11.16 am. DBS fell 0.4 per cent to S$53.62, OCBC dropped 1.2 per cent to S$18.05 and UOB sank 0.3 per cent to S$33.79.

The STI decline is occurring on the back of markets across Asia tumbling significantly. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index were both down more than 2 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi dived nearly 4 per cent.

Earlier this week, US markets dropped on the fears of a potential AI bubble, with bitcoin also selling off. Wall Street indexes rebounded slightly after Nvidia indicated positive guidance. They declined again Thursday as stronger than expected jobs data led to pessimism of a rate cut in December.

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