SINGAPORE – The giddy mood that supercharged markets on April 10 deflated on April 11 and pushed shares back into the red to end a traumatic week for investors here and elsewhere.

Wall Street’s sour mood overnight following initial euphoria over the 90-day pause in the Trump tariffs hit home and sent the Straits Times Index (STI) down 1.8 per cent or 65.3 points to 3,512.53. Losers just outstripped gainers 257 to 241 on trade of 1.5 billion shares worth $1.9 billion.

Once again, the banks were in the front line. All three lost ground this time, with DBS Bank the STI’s biggest loser, down 3.9 per cent to $38.13. OCBC Bank shed 2.7 per cent to $15.01 and UOB declined 2.2 per cent to $32.47.

The STI’s biggest gainer was Mapletree Logistics Trust, up 0.9 per cent to $1.08.

Wall Street again set the tone with the three key indexes diving as fears worsened of an escalating trade war.

The Dow Industrials fell 2.5 per cent while the S&P 500 declined 3.5 per cent, and the Nasdaq slid 4.3 per cent. The Magnificent Seven tech stocks took a hit with Tesla diving 7.3 per cent and Meta off 6.7 per cent.

Regional indexes were mixed. The Kospi decreased 0.5 per cent, the Nikkei 225 shed 3 per cent and Malaysian shares declined 0.6 per cent, but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.1 per cent. The ASX 200 lost 0.8 per cent after falling 2.4 per cent in early trading

Heightening tensions between US and China are taking centre stage, noted Mr Jose Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers.

He added that trade deals could turn into tailwinds, but some turbulence is expected. As deals are cemented, confidence will be restored.

“The strong tailwinds of President Donald Trump’s policy mix are on their way, and once those factors begin to coincide with a clearer journey ahead on trade, the bull market will resume,” said Mr Torres. THE BUSINESS TIMES

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