BullsAndBears
Singapore stocks close lower despite strong export data
• STI down 0.6% even as exports are up for 12th straight month • DBS tops gainers list for second consecutive day, rising 0.3% • Regional markets end mixed, led by rise in KLCI and Kospi
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Uma Devi
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Local stocks ended the week on a dour note yesterday despite robust data on Singapore exports.
Exports rose for the 12th straight month in November while non-oil domestic shipments shot up 24.2 per cent year on year.
The stellar numbers did not move investors, who sent the benchmark Straits Times Index down 0.6 per cent, or 17.17 points, to 3,111.63.
Losers outpaced gainers 280 to 188 after 1.2 billion shares worth some $1.5 billion were traded.
Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley said the Omicron variant "has not caused the global economy to blink yet", but China's problems are still causing worry.
"That appears to be because the world is fed up with lockdowns and restrictions, rather than the virus itself. (But) the news from China continues to concern," he noted. "The bottom-pickers buy recommendations are flowing thick and fast on China property companies."
DBS was the top gainer on the local bourse for the second consecutive day. The stock added 0.3 per cent to $32.44.
A few "pandemic plays" - local glove makers and healthcare-related counters such as Top Glove, Medtecs International, UG Healthcare and Riverstone - were also among the biggest gainers.
Thinly traded Shangri-La Asia was the biggest loser, falling 8.6 per cent to HK$6.19. Two members of the Jardine stable were also among the top decliners.
Jardine Cycle and Carriage fell 1.8 per cent to $20.82, while Jardine Matheson Holdings lost 0.6 per cent to US$55.33.
QT Vascular was the most heavily traded with 124.1 million shares changing hands. Other heavily traded counters were Singtel and ComfortDelGro.
Regional markets ended mixed after a lacklustre day on Wall Street. Malaysia's KLCI was up 1.2 per cent, the Kospi rose 0.4 per cent, the Jakarta Composite added 0.1 per cent and the ASX in Sydney inched up 0.1 per cent, but the Nikkei 225 fell 1.8 per cent and the Hang Seng declined 1.2 per cent.
