Singapore stocks plunge mid global sell-off after COVID-19 pandemic declared
Singapore
Singapore's stock market plunged more than 4 per cent on Thursday (Mar 12) after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic and the United States announced a 30-day ban on travel from Europe over the coronavirus.
The benchmark Straits Times Index fell as much as 4.2 per cent to 2,666.05 during intra-day trading, Bloomberg data showed.
This is the lowest since March 2016, when it touched 2,654.98, according to data from investing.com.
The index closed down 3.7 per cent at 2,681.31, with losers outpacing winners at 449 to 99.
Among the top losers, Wilmar plunged 8.3 per cent, Keppel Corp fell 7.2 per cent and Mapletree Logistics Trust lost 6.9 per cent.
Year-to-date, the STI has fallen about 16.8 per cent.
"As an open and small economy, Singapore is very susceptible to external shocks and thus vulnerable to a global selloff," Ms Margaret Yang, market analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore, said in a note to CNA.
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