S'pore shares fall on Wall Street dip, coronavirus variants

Singapore shares retreated yesterday as investors went back into the trenches following Wall Street's dip amid inflation fears.

There are also new Covid-19 variants, prompting calls to stay home.

The concerns sent the Straits Times Index (STI) down 38.42 points, or 1.22 per cent, to 3,104.21, with losers outnumbering gainers 256 to 125 on trade of 1.41 billion securities worth $1.25 billion.

UBS analyst Lee Wen Ching said renewed mobility curbs could revive interest in some areas.

"Defensive sectors such as industrial real estate investment trusts (Reits) and telecommunications infrastructure providers may once again come into the spotlight for their earnings and dividend resilience," she added.

Reopening proxies such as the aviation, hospitality, tourism and consumer discretionary sectors may face renewed pressure, she said.

Reopening plays, including Singapore Airlines (SIA), ComfortDelGro and Genting Singapore, which fared well on Tuesday, were among the worst-performing on the blue-chip index yesterday.

SIA was at the bottom of the table, losing 3.3 per cent to $4.70. ComfortDelGro dipped 3 per cent to end at $1.61, while Genting Singapore fell 2.5 per cent to 78.5 cents.

Only two STI counters ended the day in the black. Keppel DC Reit rose 0.8 per cent to $2.68, while Dairy Farm International edged up 0.5 per cent to US$4.38.

Mapletree Industrial Trust, Singtel and Thai Beverage ended the day flat.

The most active STI counter was Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, which ended the day at $1.43, down 2.7 per cent after some 37.5 million shares changed hands.

Elsewhere, equities pulled back after a relatively strong start to the week amid inflation concerns.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 1.28 per cent and the Jakarta index dipped 1.27 per cent. Hong Kong and Seoul were closed.