STI up 0.7% as investors rotate from US to more stable Singapore market

SINGAPORE – The rally at the Singapore bourse continued on Sept 30, on the back of the rotation of funds from investors who are concerned about the possibility of a shutdown of the United States government.

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 30.18 points or 0.7 per cent to 4,300.16.

Across the broader market, gainers beat decliners 329 to 249 on a high trading volume of 2.1 billion. The total transaction value was $1.8 billion.

Mr Isaac Lim, Moomoo Singapore’s chief market strategist, said the STI uptick could be attributed to a risk-off play by investors, who are rotating into the more stable Singapore market as they get increasingly worried about a potential temporary closure of the US government.

“From a technical perspective, STI continues to hold above near-term meaningful support at around the 4,260 price region. The bounce reaction that we saw today can translate to a stronger recovery if the STI closes above the 4,315 resistance level,” he added.

Shares of CNMC Goldmine are riding the bull run as the prices of bullion soared to a fresh high. The counter of the Catalist-listed gold producer shot up nine cents or 8.8 per cent to $1.11 – its highest price since its debut on the Singapore Exchange in October 2011.

The prices of gold climbed to its peak on Sept 29 as a potential shutdown of the US government and rising expectations of more reductions of the US interest rate fuelled demand for the safe-haven asset.

Property owner and developer Capital World’s shares were the most actively traded with a transaction volume of 178.7 million. Its share price halved to 0.1 cent on Sept 30 after it announced that 125 purchasers have refiled their lawsuit against a subsidiary.

The worst STI performer, Genting Singapore, saw its shares decline 1.3 per cent or one cent to 73.5 cents, although it did not make any market-sensitive announcement.

THE BUSINESS TIMES