Singapore Stocks Slide 0.4% as Chip Shares Fall Across the Region

Singapore’s market decline on Friday was modest at the index level, but losses among chip-related shares were sharp. The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.4 per cent or 19.29 points to 5,376.74, as investors sold technology stocks after a steep overnight drop on Wall Street. The split between a limited benchmark decline and heavy losses in several chip names points to concentrated pressure rather than a uniform retreat across the market.

Chip shares bear the brunt

AEM was down more than 11 per cent at S$7.23 at the market open, then finished at S$7.45, down 8.6 per cent or S$0.70, according to the figures for the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index. UMS Integration and Frencken both ended at S$2.01. UMS Integration fell 7.8 per cent and Frencken declined 5.2 per cent.

Mi Material, a newly listed maker of chip packaging materials, was down 9 per cent at S$1.63 in early trade. Its close was lower still: the shares ended at S$1.51, a fall of 16.1 per cent. The different moves between early trading and the close show how selling intensified in some names as the session progressed.

The pressure extended beyond Singapore. Investors were selling chip stocks around the region after a similar rout on Wall Street, where technology shares fell for a second session as investors pulled back from artificial intelligence-linked stocks following another round of disappointing company results.

Alphabet shares closed 12.6 per cent lower at US$283.82 on Thursday. The source described that as the company’s biggest single-day loss since it listed in 2004. That decline helped set the tone for the regional technology sell-off, though the figures do not establish how much of each Singapore company’s fall came from the overseas move versus company-specific trading.

Index leaders move in different directions

Mapletree Logistics Trust led gainers among Singapore’s blue-chip stocks, rising 2.8 per cent or S$0.03 to S$1.10. Wilmar International was the weakest STI constituent, falling 3.2 per cent or S$0.10 to S$3.01. Their opposing moves underline how the day’s weakness was not shared equally across sectors.

The three local banks also ended lower. DBS lost 0.9 per cent or S$0.67 to S$73.13, OCBC fell 0.2 per cent to S$29.29, and UOB was down 0.3 per cent at S$41.37. The declines were smaller than those recorded by several chip-linked counters, but all three bank stocks added to the downward pressure on the benchmark.

In the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, Yangzijiang Financial was the top gainer, rising 7.5 per cent or S$0.015 to S$0.215. AEM was the index’s biggest decliner, falling 8.6 per cent or S$0.70 to S$7.45. The contrast between the two shows that selling pressure in chip stocks coexisted with gains elsewhere in the wider market.

Trading breadth and regional signals

Across the broader Singapore market, 270 counters gained and 304 fell. A total of 1.1 billion securities worth S$1.9 billion changed hands. More stocks declined than advanced, although the difference was not wide enough to suggest that every part of the market moved in step with the hardest-hit technology names.

Regional benchmarks offered a mixed picture. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.5 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.1 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi was down 3.5 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI advanced 0.3 per cent. The Kospi’s decline was the steepest among the listed regional moves, while gains in Hong Kong and Malaysia show that Friday’s weakness was not universal.

For market watchers, the next useful distinction is whether the selling remains concentrated in chip-related shares or spreads more broadly across Singapore stocks. Friday’s trading showed clear pressure on several technology names, modest losses among the banks, and gains in selected counters. The index’s 0.4 per cent fall captures the net result, while the individual stock moves reveal where the strain was greatest.