Daily Markets Briefing: STI down 0.9%

Find out who the biggest losers were.

According to KGI Fraser, Chinese equities surged higher after the Chinese authorities loosened controls on margin financing, with both the Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Composite up by more than 2% each. 

Hong Kong listed brokerages also rallied on anticipation of the possible launch of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, with the likes of Cinda International, Emperor Capital and Bright Smart all up by more than 9%.

Unfortunately for the STI, the positive sentiment in China did not spill over to Singapore as the index closed 26.11 points or 0.9% lower to end at 2,880.69. 

Here’s more from KGI Fraser:

Top gainers include ComfortDelGro (S$3.000; +1.0%) and HPH Trust (US$0.525; +1.0%), while decliners include rig builders Keppel Corp (S$6.030; -1.5%) and Sembcorp Marine (S$1.715; -1.7%) and the three local banks.

Small-cap stocks were also in play as the likes of OKH Global, Spackman and Ezra dominated trading volume, with more than 100 million shares exchanging hands for each of the counters.