Singapore shares end higher amid cautious optimism; STI up 0.1%

SINGAPORE – Shares in Singapore inched north on Nov 29 as investors started to see the upcoming Trump presidency in a more optimistic light.

The mood change nudged the Straits Times Index (STI) up 0.1 per cent or 2.04 points to 3,739.29. Gainers outstripped losers 269 to 217 on turnover of 862.3 million securities worth $956.3 million.

Across the region, the Shanghai Composite climbed 0.9 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.3 per cent, but the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell 0.4 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi declined 2 per cent. Australian shares recovered from an intraday fall but closed down 0.1 per cent after hitting a record high on Nov 28 driven by hopes of a bumper China stimulus package.

Wall Street gave a weak lead-in overnight with the Nasdaq down 0.6 per cent after some lacklustre corporate results in the tech sector. The Dow industrials lost 0.3 per cent and the S&P 500 slipped 0.4 per cent.

Telco Singtel was the STI’s top gainer, rising 1.6 per cent to $3.10, while in-flight caterer and ground handler Sats was at the bottom of the table, off 1.1 per cent to $3.76.

The three local banks were mixed: UOB declined 0.4 per cent to $36.36; DBS Bank was up 0.4 per cent to $42.43; and OCBC Bank flat at $16.28.

Notably, Nam Cheong jumped 19.2 per cent after the group announced that it had bagged offshore support vessel charter contracts worth RM1.2 billion (S$362 million).

Investors in Singapore-listed real estate investment trusts (S-Reits) digested the after-hours announcement by the Monetary Authority of Singapore on Nov 28 that S-Reits will be subject to standardised leverage limit requirements and must provide additional leverage-related disclosures to “foster prudent borrowing”.

OCBC noted: “We believe it will be a marginal positive for the sector as it provides more buffer and financial flexibility to the S-Reits.”

THE BUSINESS TIMES