Trump Tariffs: 4 Sectors With The Biggest Losses On The STI

We are living in volatile times. After first announcing US Reciprocal tariffs that would come into effect almost immediately, US President Donald Trump tracked back with a 90-day pause with the exception of higher tariffs on China.

Stock markets around the world reacted by sinking and then rebounding, only to sink again. This has reportedly wiped out trillions of investor dollars.

In Singapore, the Straits Times Index (STI) dropped from 3,942 points at the close of 3 April 2025 on Thursday to 3,394 points at the close of 9 April on Wednesday this week. 3 April was the first trading day for Singapore stocks after the tariffs were announced. The news of Trump’s tariff pause the following morning led to the US markets rebounding strongly. Similarly, the STI opened at 3,637, an increase of 7.16% from the previous day.

Overnight, on 10 April 2025, the US markets again dipped nearly 5%, which will likely take global markets, including the STI, down with it.

While no one knows where the stock markets will go from here, we can already see that several sectors on Singapore’s STI were harder hit than others.

Read Also: 5 Takeaways From PM Lawrence Wong’s Ministerial Statement About The Trump Tariffs

#1 Banks and Financial Services

The three local banks and financial services, such as SGX, suffered between 8% to 18.4% losses in the past week, especially on the expectation that much of Asia were subject to the highest tariffs. The banks’ substantial exposure to other parts of Asia, and especially China, would be impacted by any potential slowdown in the region.

Fortunately, they were also some of the biggest recoveries following the announcement of the tariff pause, with the banks rebounding around 7% on Thursday. 

As mentioned, following the 5% dip in the US stock markets overnight, these components may similarly drop when the STI open this morning.

#2 Industrials and Conglomerates

As a broad sector, industrials and conglomerates suffered a relatively smaller hit. Those more closely connected to trade, such as Chinese shipbuilder Yangzijiang dropped significantly. 

Meanwhile Keppel and Jardine Matheson Holdings, were similarly affected due to their multiple business interests across Asia. In fact, Keppel hit 52-week low at 5.66 at close on Wednesday, possibly due to the global asset manager’s property exposure in China and Vietnam.

Some companies proved to be more resistant to the tariff announcement, such as ST Engineering, likely due to their sector of expertise, but still suffered some losses over the past week.

Again, many within this sector enjoyed rebounds between 3% to 8% following the tariff pause announcement. As the US markets have sunk again overnight, these sectors may similarly trade lower.

#3 Airlines, Airports and Air Services

With the global economy expected to significantly slow by President Trump’s tariffs, it’s not surprising that one of the worst hit sectors was the travel industry. Both SIA and SATS are closely tied, though the latter, as an aviation and food specialist, dropped further in anticipation of a slowdown in travel.

The tariff pause announcement caused both stocks to rebound on Thursday, with SATS recovering slightly faster than SIA.

#4 Technology and Electronic Components

Singapore industries with significant exports were expected to be most hit by the tariffs and the stock market reflected that concern. Shares of Venture Corp, which designs, develops and manufactures high-tech products fell sharply, while Seatrium, with its focus on offshore renewable energy, was also badly hit.

Even with the tariff pause announcement, the rebound was not as strong for these companies compared to others on the STI, which may suggest that forecasts for these industries are not as optimistic.

Read Also: The Stock Market Has Crashed. Here’s 5 Things Investors Can Do In A Bear Market

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