Singapore stocks edged lower on Tuesday, dragged down by lenders such as DBS Group Holdings amidst renewed geopolitical worries after North Korea fired a missile over northern Japan.
U.S. stock futures and Asian share markets tumbled after North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan, promising to fan simmering tensions with the U.S.
North Korea fired a missile early on Tuesday that flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific waters about 1,180 kilometers (735 miles) off the northern region of Hokkaido, Reuters reported.
Mirroring the concerns, safe-haven Swiss franc hit a one-month high of 0.9498 franc to the dollar while gold jumped 0.9 percent to $1,324 per ounce, hitting its highest level since Nov 9.
At 0523 GMT, the Straits Times Index fell 0.38 percent or 12 points to 3,255. It ended 0.25 percent higher on Monday, taking the year-to-date gains to about 13 percent.
Lenders such as DBS Group Holdings fell 0.6 percent, United Overseas Bank lost 0.1 percent and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp declined 0.6 percent.
Singaporean conglomerate Keppel Corp said its Keppel Land has priced S$150 million worth of 2.843 percent notes due 2023. The stock was down 0.6 percent.
CapitaLand announced a slew of management changes, including the appointment of Jason Leow as chief operating officer. CapitaLand shares fell 0.3 percent.
Property developer Fragrance Group said it has acquired the Townhouse Hotel in United Kingdom for 12.5 million sterling. Its shares fell about 2 percent.
Among the gainers, coal miner Geo Energy Resources gained 2 percent after it formed a new subsidiary to invest in a controlling stake in an online e-commerce portal in Indonesia.
About 1 billion shares worth S$481 million changed hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 219 to 124.
