Singapore stocks fall as financials weigh

Safe haven assets such as the yen and gold strengthened following North Korea missile test.

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A floor trader monitors share prices during afternoon trading at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Hong Kong, China. Reuters

Singapore equities fell on Tuesday, dragged lower by financial stocks such as OCBC Bank and United Overseas Bank, with sentiment in Asia subdued after North Korea missile test.

Safe haven assets such as the yen and gold strengthened after North Korea test-fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile toward Japan. Crude oil prices halted an eight-day rally.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher, led by financials and energy shares.

U.S. markets are closed on Tuesday for the independence day holiday.

The Straits Times Index fell 0.44 percent or 14 points to 3,209. It ended 0.09 percent lower on Monday, taking the year-to-date gains to 11.9 percent.

Lenders were the biggest drag on the SGX, with OCBC Bank, DBS Group and United Overseas Bank down between 0.5 percent and 1.5 percent.

Shares of Disa, a maker of foundry machinery and filters, declined 7 percent after Monday's rally.

Among the gainers, chemical maker Jiutian Chemical surged 13.3 percent while KrisEnergy gained 8 percent.

About 1.5 billion shares worth S$893 million changed hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 248 to 162.

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