Singapore stocks down by midday, snapping 4 days of gains

Singapore shares fell by midday on Monday, largely in line with regional markets, as Hungary’s credit rating downgrade underscored Europe’s debt woes, offsetting positive economic data from the United States.

Traders also said there might be some profit-taking after the Singapore bourse racked up gains in the last four consecutive trading days, while others may be moving to the sidelines ahead of the corporate result reporting season.

At 1 p.m., the Straits Times Index (STI) was down 0.9%, or 26.90 points, at 2,688.69. Some 575.7 million shares worth $353.1 million were traded, compared with 310 million shares worth $281 million on Friday.