By Yang Huiwen

THE local benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) comprising 30 blue-chip component stocks has lost almost half its market value from a year ago, when the measure hit a high of 3,831.19 last Oct 11.

Since then, the STI has shed 49.15 per cent. This means that easily $250 billion has been wiped off the benchmark, whose market value now stands at $263.7 billion.

Out of the 30 blue-chip stocks, 18 have lost half or more of their value since the heady high of last October.

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