STI falls 2.28%: Singapore stocks slip further as Trump’s 104% tariff on China sparks global jitters

SINGAPORE: Singapore stocks slipped further on Wednesday (April 9) as markets continued to feel the fallout from US President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff stance against China.

The Straits Times Index (STI), which just crossed the 4,000 mark by the end of March, retreated 2.28% to 3,390.3 as trading began, erasing seven months of gains and sending the index back to levels last seen in September 2024, as reported by The Edge Singapore.

According to The Business Times, the broader market had 266 losers while only 67 gained after 262.38 million securities worth S$461.27 million were traded.

This week, tensions between the United States and China escalated further as the US President threatened an “additional” 50% tariff on Chinese goods — unless Beijing reversed its 34% retaliatory move. Including levies imposed in February and March, it brings the total tariff on Chinese goods to 104%.

In response to Mr Trump’s threat, China’s Ministry of Commerce issued a firm response on Tuesday that “China will fight to the end”.

These fresh tariffs are due to kick in at 12:01 a.m. US Eastern Daylight Time on April 10, or 12.01 p.m. Singapore time. As of 12:08 p.m. Singapore time, STI edged up to 3,394.7, according to data from ShareInvestor.

At Wednesday’s open, Singtel led in trading volume at S$3.42 with 6.4 million shares exchanged.

Yangzijiang Financial fell 3.7% to S$0.65 after 5.6 million shares were traded, while Yangzijiang Shipbuilding dropped 3.2% to S$1.84 after 2.7 million shares were exchanged. Mapletree Logistics Trust tumbled 5.2% to S$1.09 after four million shares were traded.

Local banks were also hit hard. DBS dropped 2.7% to S$36.96, OCBC fell 1.4% to S$14.60, and UOB declined 2.11% to S$31.45.

On Tuesday, Wall Street also took a hit. The S&P 500 fell 1.6% to 4,982.77, dipping below 5,000 points for the first time in nearly a year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.8% lower at 37,645.59, while the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 2.2% to 15,267.91.

In Europe, shares bounced back on Tuesday after four days of sharp losses, but investors stayed cautious as countries reacted to the US tariff hikes. The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 2.72% to 486.91 points, recovering slightly after falling more than 12% over the past four sessions. /TISG 

Read also: STI opens 0.4% lower: Singapore shares still down after Monday’s sharp fall, but the worst appears over for now

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