Singapore shares closed lower on Oct 30, as a regional technology sell-off and weakness in banking stocks weighed on investor sentiment amid growing concerns over artificial intelligence (AI) spending and corporate earnings.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) declined 0.4% to 5,376.74 points, dragged down by losses across major financial counters and semiconductor-related stocks.
The decline followed a sharp sell-off on Wall Street, where investors retreated from AI-linked stocks amid concerns over heavy capital expenditure and uncertain investment returns. Alphabet’s 12.6% plunge in the previous US session further dampened sentiment across Asian technology markets.
Singapore’s semiconductor-related counters came under significant pressure, with AEM falling 8.6% to S$7.45, UMS Integration shedding 7.8% to S$2.01 and Frencken declining 5.2% to S$2.01.
Banking heavyweights also contributed to the benchmark’s losses. DBS slipped 0.9% to S$73.13, OCBC eased 0.2% to S$29.29, while UOB declined 0.3% to S$41.37.
Wilmar International was the STI’s biggest decliner, losing 3.2% to S$3.01, while Mapletree Logistics Trust bucked the trend, advancing 2.8% to S$1.10.
Market breadth remained negative, with 304 decliners outnumbering 270 gainers. Total trading volume reached 1.1 billion securities worth S$1.9 billion.