At closing bell, the Straits Times Index (STI) index was down 32.94 points or 1.01% to 3,240.81 after trading between 3,237.79 and 3,272.12. Volume was 1.72 billion shares worth S$1.66 billion changed hands. There were 251 gainers and 264 decliners.
Investors rushed to sell shares following a sharp drop in U.S. and European equities overnight, as the market's focus shifted from fighting persistent inflation to the negative effect of prolonged monetary tightening in the United States and Europe. The European Central Bank and the Bank of England raised their key interest rates Thursday, with ECB President Christine Lagarde saying further interest rate hikes are necessary to tame inflation.
In the United States, weaker-than-expected retail sales and industrial output data for November released overnight stoked recession fears, a day after the Federal Reserve said it expects to maintain a monetary tightening cycle for longer than the market had anticipated.
The top performing stock in Straits Times Index was Yangzijiang Shipbuilding which rose 1.47%, while the bottom performing stock was Hongkong Land, falling 3.4%.
The local banks were higher. DBS fell 0.4% and United Overseas Bank fell 0.5%, while Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp shed 1.4%.
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