Bulls And Bears
Singapore shares down on threat of China power shortage
• STI falls 0.73%, with losers outpacing gainers 247 to 229 • Wilmar, HK Land are only STI shares up; Genting S'pore dives • Lacklustre trading for several Asian bourses but Hang Seng up
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Claudia Tan
Singapore shares fell yesterday as markets grappled with a new threat: China's energy shortages and production curbs.
Asian economies are jostling for ever more expensive energy supplies, and factory shutdowns in China are "sure to add to logistical disruptions for the region", said Mr Jeffrey Halley, Oanda's Asia-Pacific senior market analyst.
The Straits Times Index (STI) ended yesterday 0.73 per cent or 22.61 points lower at 3,077.69.
Trading was lacklustre for several benchmark indices in the region. Seoul's Kospi dipped 1.14 per cent, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 0.19 per cent, while the Jakarta Composite Index slipped 0.15 per cent.
"Sentiments largely tracked the mixed performance in Wall Street overnight, but with certain risk events on watch such as the ongoing Evergrande issue and recent power crunch in China," said IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong.
On the other hand, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index led gains in the region, ending the day 1.2 per cent higher, while the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index was up 0.9 per cent.
Across the Singapore market, losers outpaced gainers 247 to 229, with 1.84 billion securities worth $1.29 billion changing hands.
Only two of the 30 STI constituents ended the day in the black.
Wilmar International was up 1.7 per cent or seven cents to $4.18, while Hongkong Land gained 0.2 per cent or one US cent to US$4.78.
At the bottom of the table was Genting Singapore, which declined 3.4 per cent or 2.5 cents to 72 cents.
Singtel was the most heavily traded counter on the blue-chip index with over 38 million shares changing hands. Its shares fell 1.2 per cent or three cents to $2.48.
