STI, Asia markets retreat after Dow dives nearly 900 points on Trump tariff threats

[SINGAPORE] Singapore shares were trading lower on Wednesday (Jan 21), mirroring losses in markets abroad after new tariff threats by US President Donald Trump sparked massive Wall Street sell-offs.

The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.6 per cent or 27.27 points to 4,800.73, with around 61 million shares worth S$103.8 million changing hands as at 9.03 am. Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 116 to 41.

Markets across Asia-Pacific mirrored the losses. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.7 per cent to 52,615.91 and South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.3 per cent to 4,870.22. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 retreated 0.5 per cent to 8,775.2.

The retreats come as Wall Street’s three major indices suffered major losses on Tuesday and posted their steepest intraday drops in three months after Trump’s tariff threats against Europe over Greenland triggered sell-offs; gold hit new records, while Bitcoin fell more than 3 per cent.

The S&P 500 lost 2.1 per cent to end at 6,796.86 points, as the Nasdaq Composite declined by 2.4 per cent to 22,954.32. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 1.8 per cent to 48,488.59.

The most heavily traded stocks on the Singapore Exchange included Addvalue Technologies, which was 5.9 per cent or S$0.004 down at S$0.064, with 14.1 million shares transacted.

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China Kunda Technology rose 31.6 per cent or S$0.006 to S$0.025, with 10.7 million shares changing hands, while EFH was 4.5 per cent or S$0.004 down at S$0.085, with 2.7 million shares transacted.

The three local banks were trading lower at market open. DBS fell 0.6 per cent or S$0.36 to S$57.77 as at 9.04 am, with around 598,400 shares traded. OCBC dropped 0.2 per cent or S$0.04 to S$20.31, with around 348,800 shares changing hands. UOB was 1.1 per cent or S$0.41 lower at S$36.33, with some 182,200 shares transacted.