Genting Singapore was the STI's most active counter. The casino operator traded two Singapore cents or 6.5 per cent lower at 67.5 cents after 34.5 million shares changed hands.
The local banks clawed back early losses. OCBC Bank was S$0.04 or 0.4 per cent lower at S$9.07 and United Overseas Bank was trading down by S$0.23 or 1.1 per cent to S$20.30 as at 1.05pm on Friday.The trio are trading at price levels last seen in 2017. Among the gainers on the STI were conglomerates Keppel Corp and Sembcorp Industries, which have sizeable exposure to the offshore and marine sector. Keppel was trading S$0.11 or 2.1 per cent higher at S$5.26. Sembcorp, which is coming off a 15-year low on Thursday, gained S$0.08 or 5.1 per cent to S$1.66.Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific, equity benchmarks were similarly battered, with Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand markedly lower.