Global giant General Electric (GE) threw the first punch last Friday, a surprise 6 percent drop on its 1st-quarter earnings, a weak consumer data, a slump in Wall Street apparently sent regional markets into a tailspin day.
That bolt from GE and report showing comsumer sentiment at a 26-year low, did sent Wall Street reeling by more than 250 points on Friday. Consumer spending makes up about 60 percent of the US gross domestic product.
investors in Singapore also sold sharply, sending STI down 2.1 percent at opening and finally ended the day down to 2.68 percent at 3,042.96, its biggest one-day fall in a month.
The lastest check on Friday, 18 April 2008 - STI up 3,124.87
China was not spared with Shanghai Composite Index plunging 5.62 percent
Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 3.47 percent
Tokyo's Nikkei was 3.05 percent, were not much better.
GE's lst-quarter results provided more of a wake-up call that the US ecomony is not doing well. For the records :
1) Keppel Corp - down 36 cents to $10.14
2) City Developments retreated 62 cents to $11.30
3) Singtel fell 11 cents to $3.97
4) UOB was down 58 cents to $20.20
5) DBS Group Holdings slipped 48 cents to $19.18
6) SGX came under pressure also slumping 35 cents to $7.93
May to July period is traditionally quiet and more vulnerable to swings said a report by NetResearch Asia and recommended to stay sidelined until the second half of July 2008, by which time it should have more clarity in the economic and earnings cycle both in the US and Singapore markets.
