Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 3%

Don’t expect gains today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 101.67 or 3% lower at 3,290.62.

The top active stocks were DBS, which crashed 4.33%, UOB, which went down 6.91%, OCBC Bank, which fell 3.93%, CapitaLand, which dipped 1.94%, and Singtel which declined 2.21%.

The FTSE Mid Cap slipped 1.99% whilst the FTSE Small Cap crashed 1.57%.

According to OCBC Investment Research (OIR), US stocks finished lower Monday even in the wake of a dramatic comeback after President Donald Trump threatened over the weekend to increase tariffs on US$200b of Chinese goods, raising fresh fears about a market-disruptive clash between the world’s largest economies.

Ten out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended lower, with Materials (-1.38%) and Industrials (-0.97%) whilst Health Care (0.58%) was the sole gainer.

“Today’s tone is likely to sour further after the news reported that the U.S will plan to raise tariffs on Chinese goods this Friday,” OIR said.