Singapore Stocks to Extend Region’s Biggest Rout: Southeast Asia - Bloomberg

Singapore Stocks to Extend Region’s Biggest Rout: Southeast Asia - Bloomberg:



"Baring Asset Management Co. and Bank Julius Baer & Co. expect a deepening slump in Singapore stocks, the worst performers this year among Southeast Asian markets.



The benchmark Straits Times Index dropped 4.9 percent from Dec. 31 through last week, trailing gauges of Thai, Indonesian, Malaysian and Philippine equities by at least 1.8 percentage points. Stocks sank as data showed home purchases tumbled last year to a four-year low and retail sales dropped, while manufacturing growth weakened in China, Singapore’s biggest export market.



“The Singapore selloff is due in large part to the sputtering domestic economy,” said David Ross, Maryland, Washington-based managing director of Chevy Chase Trust Co., which oversees about $15 billion. “The weakening consumer economy portends weakness in the property segment that could send ripples through the financial system. While not the most likely scenario, the odds of a bursting property bubble are increasing.”"



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