SINGAPORE: Singapore shares fell on Friday, July 26, following the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) keeping its monetary policy unchanged for the fifth consecutive meeting.
The Straits Times Index (STI) dropped 0.1% or 4.67 points to 3,425.78 by 9:01 am, as reported by The Business Times.
In the broader market, there were 53 gainers compared to 42 losers, after 29.9 million securities worth S$31.8 million were exchanged.
Biolidics was one of the most actively traded stocks by volume, which remained flat at S$0.01, with 2.1 million shares changing hands. Seatrium also saw significant trading activity, falling 1.4% or S$0.02 to S$1.45. Meanwhile, CSE Global held steady at S$0.485 with 1.3 million shares traded.
Bank stocks were generally down as trading kicked off. DBS Bank fell by 0.2% or S$0.06, bringing its price to S$36.48. OCBC Bank edged down 0.1% or S$0.01 to S$14.88, while UOB dropped 0.3% or S$0.08 to S$32.42.
Wall Street had a mixed close on Thursday, helped by stronger-than-expected corporate earnings and economic data. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.9% to finish at 17,181.72. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.2% to close at 39,935.07. The S&P 500 dropped 0.5% to end the day at 5,399.22.
In Europe, disappointing earnings reports from tech and luxury sectors weighed on markets. Investors also flocked to safe-haven assets, deepening losses. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell by 0.7%, closing at 508.63. /TISG
Read also: Singapore stocks open lower on Thursday—STI fell by 0.6%
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