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SINGAPORE share prices finished 2.46
per cent lower on Monday, mirroring losses in regional markets amid concerns a
crisis in the US subprime mortgage sector will spill over to the rest of the
world, dealers said.
The main Straits Times Index slumped 88.55 points to 3,511.12 on volume of
2.17 billion shares worth S$ 2.74 billion dollars.
Falling issues swamped gainers 800 to 160, with 721 issues unchanged. Nervous investors sold off holdings, especially in banking stocks, following warnings from big US banks about more subprime-related writedowns in
the fourth quarter.
On Friday, fragile sentiment on Wall Street took a hit after Wachovia, one
of the leading US banks, said that its losses from risky real-estate
investments may top 1.5 billion dollars.
'The market is concerned with all these provisions by American banks,' said
Leng Seng Choon, an analyst at UOB Kay Hian.
DBS Group Holdings fell 70 cents to S$19.80 , while United
Overseas Bank dropped 50 cents to $19.60 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp was 15
cents lower at $8.50.
In the property sector, CapitaLand declined 35 cents to $7.05 and City Developments was 50 cents lower at $14.00.
Conglomerate Keppel was also 50 cents lower, at $13.20.
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