S'pore shares dip as enthusiasm over Covid-19 vaccine cools

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Local shares dipped on Thursday amid what IG market strategist Pan Jingyi described as "some cooling of the vaccine enthusiasm".

The new mood of pessimism sent the Straits Times Index (STI) down 11.59 points or 0.42 per cent to 2,777 with 1.76 billion shares worth $1.61 billion changing hands. Losers marginally outnumbered gainers 212 to 210.

Shares of Dairy Farm International fell the most among index constituents. They ended 4.19 per cent lower at US$4.35, two weeks after reporting a mixed set of third-quarter results with strong sales and profit growth in grocery retail, mitigated by lower sales and profit in its health and beauty and Maxim's segments.

Jiutian Chemical topped the "most active" list, adding 8.43 per cent to 0.9 cents, with 215.7 million shares traded. The company posted a strong set of third-quarter results last week.

Regional markets generally finished lower, except for the Shanghai Composite Index, which added 0.47 per cent. The Nikkei 225 lost 0.36 per cent, while the Hang Seng Index fell 0.71 per cent and Malaysia's KLCI ended 1.31 per cent lower for the day.

DailyFX.com strategist Margaret Yang noted that the local market saw significant institutional inflows in early November, with almost $900 million pumped into local stocks in the first two weeks, with a focus on banks, aviation, food and beverage and real estate.

"This reflects a pick-up in risk appetite from institutional investors, who might have started a new round of bargain hunting after months of net selling. A string of positive vaccine news also lifted investor confidence," she said.

Ms Yang added that the STI appears to be temporarily overbought and so may be vulnerable to a technical pull-back below a key resistance level at 2,800, while an immediate support level can be found at 2,703.