Singapore tech stocks plunge as Nasdaq bloodbath spills into region
STI sinks 2%; Nikkei down over 6%; AEM slides more than 9% after the previous day’s 20% loss
[SINGAPORE] Singapore-listed technology stocks fell on Friday (Nov 6), dragging the Straits Times Index (STI) down by more than 2 per cent in early trade.
As at 9.04 am on Friday, the benchmark index was down 120.51 points, or 2.3 per cent, at 5175.74 points. All counters were in the red. In Tokyo, the Nikkei Index lost over 6 per cent to 57,239 just an hour into trading.
In the broader market, technology stocks had some of the steepest declines on market open. As at 9.07 am, shares of AEM slid 9.3 per cent to S$5.78, while UMS Integration declined 8.4 per cent to S$1.63.
Frencken shed 7.6 per cent to S$1.70, while CSE Global slipped 6.7 per cent to S$0.84.
Only a handful of counters across the broader market were up as at 9.15 am, including postal carrier SingPost which had reported an 183.7 per cent increase in its H1 profit before the market opened.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plunged 5.52 per cent on Thursday, as investors grew concerned about tighter artificial intelligence regulation following the Democrats’ victory in the US midterm elections.
The index has fallen more than 10 per cent from its record closing high on Oct 6, placing it in correction territory.
Investors are concerned that Democratic control of both chambers of Congress could lead to greater scrutiny of AI infrastructure development, adding to existing worries over heavy capital expenditure, stretched valuations and uncertain returns on AI investments.
