Singapore Stocks Plunge Amid Global Sell-off After COVID-19 Pandemic Declared

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.

Asian markets were a sea of red at the open, with traders taking their lead from a global rout as the WHO declared the spread of the coronavirus was officially a pandemic.

But Trump’s announcement of the 30-day ban, which excludes Britain, caused further selling, despite a series of measures intended to ease the financial pain of the outbreak, which has paralysed travel and hit businesses around the world.

Oil prices were also hammered after Trump’s comments, with both main contracts falling around 6 per cent.

“At the crux of the issue is the fear of the prolonged, widespread coronavirus sustaining its hold on the market. Even though we do have substantial support coming through from governments and central banks alike, the dispersion of the virus so far continues to mark the risks of dragging the global economy into recession,” Ms Pan Jingyi, market strategist at IG, said in a note.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plunged 3.7 per cent to close at 24,309.07.

Tokyo ended down 4.4 per cent, while Sydney lost 7.4 per cent in the ASX 200’s worst day since the 2008 financial crisis and Shanghai was off 1.5 per cent.

The losses followed another brutal session on the US markets, with wave after wave of bad news, including Hilton withdrawing its earnings forecast and Boeing saying it would suspend most hiring and overtime pay.

The coronavirus outbreak has left virtually no sector untouched, though travel and tourism have been particularly hard-hit as countries institute travel bans and quarantine requirements.

Globally, about 126,000 have been infected with COVID-19 and more than 4,600 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

The Dow Jones Industrial Index plunged around 1,465 points, or 5.9 per cent, to 23,553.22 on Wednesday, in a bruising session that left the index more than 20 per cent below its peak, making it a bear market.

On Thursday, Europe’s main stock markets also dived more than 5 perent at the start of trading.

Shortly after the open, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 5.3 per cent, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 plunged 5.8 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 tumbled 5.1 per cent.

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