Singapore stock market is one of Asia’s worst performers in 2015: report

The oil downturn is a key culprit.

Singapore’s Straits Times Index (STI) is one of the worst-performing stock indices in Asia, according to a report by OCBC.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the year-to-date performance ranged from -13% for the Jakarta Composite Index to +60% for the Shenzhen Composite Index.

The STI, with a year-to-date performance of -15%, is one of the key underperformers in this region this year, OCBC said. 

“This was led by share price declines of key stocks in the Oil & Gas, Real Estate, REIT and Banking sectors. Not surprisingly, Oil & Gas and Commodity stocks listed on the local exchange were dragged lower by the sharp decline in global oil and other commodity prices,” OCBC said. 

“In addition, the austerity drive in China was also acutely felt in Singapore’s retail and consumer sector, while companies with China exposure had a complete change of fortunes from the Chinese stock markets rally in Apr to being causalities, falling in line with the slower outlook for the Chinese economy,” OCBC added.