S'pore stocks end week in black on news of easing Covid-19 curbs

Local shares ended the week on a more upbeat note on news yesterday that some restrictions would be eased, following initial fears that a spike in Covid-19 cases in the community would derail the move.

One measure will allow food and beverage establishments to open to diners from next Monday, but with group sizes limited to two people, while the Jobs Support Scheme will be extended by three weeks.

Investors responded by sending the Straits Times Index (STI) up 0.2 per cent or 5.85 points to 3,144.16, but losers outnumbered gainers 255 to 224 on trade of 2.11 billion shares worth $1.84 billion.

Talk earlier this week of interest rate hikes by United States Federal Reserve officials did not have much of an impact on bourses, noted Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley.

"The response by the markets... has been variable," he said. "An inconclusive Wall Street session has left Asia to its own devices, where the cyclical rotation overnight has prevailed to a lesser degree."

Jardine Matheson Holdings was the top gainer here for the second day in a row, closing at US$64.78, up 3.1 per cent.

MC Payment soared after announcing that it had received a letter of intent from Indonesia-based payments and remittance company Dompet Harapan Bangsa for an equity stake.

The shares closed at 50 cents, up 51.5 per cent.

Digilife Technologies, formerly known as Sevak Limited, was the biggest decliner, shedding 10.4 per cent to $2.06.

Jardine Cycle and Carriage was another loser, falling 1 per cent to $21.63.

The trio of local lenders also ended the week lower. DBS fell 0.4 per cent to $29.77, UOB shed 0.4 per cent to $25.84, while OCBC Bank lost 0.6 per cent to $12.05.

Regional markets were a mixed bag. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.9 per cent, the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index added 1.2 per cent and the Kospi inched up 0.1 per cent, while the Nikkei 225 dipped 0.2 per cent and the Jakarta Composite Index fell 1 per cent.