Singapore banks reverse midweek gains on Friday, dragging STI down 1.6%

SINGAPORE equities fell on Friday (Jan 10), driven by losses in the banks and other Straits Times Index (STI) counters.

The benchmark index declined 1.6 per cent or 61.04 points to 3,801.56.

Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 346 to 192, after 898.6 million securities worth S$1.2 billion changed hands.

Local banking stocks retreated from highs earlier in the week. DBS shed 1.9 per cent or S$0.87 to S$44.13 – retreating from its record high of S$45 reached on Wednesday.

OCBC was down 2.3 per cent or S$0.40 at S$17.10. UOB declined 2 per cent or S$0.76 to S$36.82.

In a Friday note, OCBC Investment Research downgraded UOB to “hold”, noting that its share price had outperformed in the last two months and its fair value of S$37.50 had been reached earlier in the week.

Maritime vessel maker Yangzijiang Shipbuilding lost 3.5 per cent or S$0.11 to S$3, after falling some 5 per cent at the midday break. It was the third-highest traded counter by volume, with 25.7 million shares worth S$77.3 million moving throughout the day.

There were no gainers on the STI, with four counters – DFI Retail Group, Mapletree Logistics Trust, Sats and UOL – ending flat.

Outside Singapore, key regional indices largely fell. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.9 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index dipped 0.2 per cent, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.1 per cent. The Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index ticked up 0.1 per cent.