S'pore shares up after mixed day of trading

Local shares headed south in early trading yesterday on the back of a dip on Wall Street and Europe overnight, but found firmer ground later in the day. The mixed session left the Straits Times Index (STI) up 6.69 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 2,612.25.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong and Japan ended lower as the coronavirus pandemic dampened sentiment. Tokyo closed down 1.3 per cent, Hong Kong fell 0.6 per cent, Sydney lost 0.9 per cent and Taipei shed 0.7 per cent. Seoul was flat and Shanghai rose 0.3 per cent.

"The risk-off atmosphere engulfed markets once again as global coronavirus cases climbed to two million, with the trail of carnage to show in the form of the latest economic and earnings data," said IG market strategist Pan Jingyi.

Earlier cheer from better-than-expected Chinese data had worn off by Wednesday, after "disappointing US data, soft earnings numbers and slump in crude oil prices", she said.

United States retail sales plunged last month while industrial production suffered its steepest drop since 1946, data showed on Wednesday.

Oil has plunged in recent weeks as lockdowns depressed demand and the pricing war between Saudi Arabia and Russia rages. Riyadh, Moscow and other producers agreed to an output cut, but investors fear the curbs will not be enough to stabilise the crude market.

An International Monetary Fund prediction that Asia's economy is likely to suffer zero growth this year for the first time in 60 years also weighed on risk appetites.

"Any recovery in risk sentiment depends on how quickly economies can reopen without risking overloading their healthcare systems and, most of all, not risking any chance of a secondary spread," said Mr Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at AxiCorp.

Across the Singapore market, gainers outpaced losers 248 to 187 with 1.22 billion shares worth $1.25 billion changing hands. The best performer was Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, which gained 3 per cent to $1.03. The banks were among the nine index counters that dipped. DBS shed 0.6 per cent to $19.38, United Overseas Bank slid and 0.7 per cent to $20.14 and OCBC Bank fell 0.3 per cent to $8.87.

The most heavily traded stock was Genting Singapore, which closed at 75.5 cents, up 1.3 per cent.

Outside the STI stocks, agri-food firm Japfa was one of the top gainers, up 9.8 per cent to 56 cents. It said on Wednesday that it is looking to sell a 25 per cent stake in its China dairy business to Japan's Meiji for US$254.4 million (S$363 million).