STI drops 0.2% amid cautious market sentiment; Venture Corp leads gains
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The blue-chip Straits Times Index finished 7.05 points down at 4,232.78 on Aug 11.
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
Ranamita Chakraborty
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SINGAPORE – Local shares closed lower on the first trading day of the week, tracking a mixed performance across Asia as investors braced themselves for geopolitical developments and key corporate earnings.
The blue-chip Straits Times Index (STI) finished 0.2 per cent or 7.05 points down at 4,232.78 on Aug 11.
Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 279 to 254, with about 1.3 billion securities worth $1.4 billion changing hands.
On the STI, technology solutions provider Venture Corp led the gainers, rising 1.1 per cent or 15 cents to $13.25.
Sembcorp was at the bottom of the list, down 3.4 per cent or 23 cents at $6.49. Earlier on Aug 11, Maybank downgraded the stock to “hold” and cut its target price to $6.40 from $7.10, following last week’s earnings decline.
The trio of local banks ended the day mixed, with DBS Bank ending flat at $50.75. OCBC Bank rose 0.5 per cent to $16.88, and UOB gained 0.1 per cent to close at $35.75.
Major indexes across the region were varied. The Kospi slipped 0.1 per cent, while the Nikkei 225 advanced 1.9 per cent. The KLCI rose 0.4 per cent and the Hang Seng added 0.2 per cent.
This came at the start of a “high-stakes” week with a preliminary trade truce between the US and China set to expire, and other countries pushing to secure agreements with the US, said Mr Christian Gattiker, head of research at Julius Baer.
He noted that a global macro pulse will emerge from a raft of inflation, production and spending data.
US headline and core consumer price indexes, due to be released on Aug 12, are expected to remain above the Federal Reserve’s 2 per cent target, amid signs that import tariffs may be feeding into prices.
China will also release its second-quarter activity data on Aug 15, including on retail sales, industrial production and fixed investment. These reports, along with second-quarter gross domestic product figures from several Asian economies, are likely to shape expectations for the region’s growth trajectory.
“With central bank decisions, political headlines and key earnings also in play, markets may not enjoy a typical August breather,” added Mr Gattiker. THE BUSINESS TIMES
