SINGAPORE, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Singapore shares closed 1.65 percent lower on Tuesday, weighed by another heavy loss in Wall Street overnight.
The U.S. stocks saw their biggest decline on Monday since the stock market crash of 1987 as the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate cut triggered widespread fear of how dire the global economic situation could become.
Losses accelerated to the downside in late afternoon after President Donald Trump said the worst of the COVID-19 outbreak might not be over until July or August or later.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices were under heavy pressure amid Saudi Arabia's national oil company Aramco's pledge to continue to flood the market as well as plunging demand.
MayBank-Kim Eng Retail Research said technically, the Straits Times Index has sliced beneath its 2,530 points double bottom with minor back-stop at 2,400 points, before key support at 2,230 points.
Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index shed 41.24 points to 2,454.53 points. Trading volume was 1.77 billion shares worth 2.56 billion Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 372 to 159.
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding rose 1.25 percent to 81 Singapore cents. It clinched a 1.15 billion U.S. dollar shipbuilding contract from Tiger Group up to ten dual-fuel containerships.
The deal is one of its largest orders by contract value in Yangzijiang's history. Two of these vessels are firm orders, while the remaining eight are options. The vessels are scheduled to be delivered from mid-2022. With the latest orders, it will see healthy utilization of its yard facilities and stable revenue stream for at least the next two years.
Among top gainers, Jardine Matheson rose 1.85 percent to 50.24 U.S. dollars, while Venture Corporation became one of the top losers by falling 1.83 percent to 13.99 Singapore dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.43 Singapore dollars)
