STI drops on weak sentiment as markets wind down for 2021

Seeing the back of what has been a difficult year seemed uppermost on the minds of local investors yesterday as they geared up for the final trading session of 2021 today.

The distracted mood left the Straits Times Index (STI) in the doldrums for much of the day before it fell 0.4 per cent, or 11.38 points, to close at 3,126.64, in line with most key Asian markets.

Japan's Nikkei, South Korea's Kospi and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI ended between 0.1 per cent and 0.5 per cent lower while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.1 per cent. Aussie stocks inched up 0.05 per cent to a three-month high, on the back of the S&P 500 hitting a record for the 70th time this year overnight.

"It appears some pre-New Year's Eve book-squaring is weighing on some markets," said Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley. "Most price actions need to be taken with a grain of salt at this time of the year, but the Omicron rear-view mirror trade seems to be favouring value over growth right now."

Decliners outpaced gainers 222 to 201 in the wider Singapore market, with 793.3 million shares worth $508.1 million changing hands.

The STI's top performer was Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, which rose 1.5 per cent to $1.35. It was one of four STI constituents that registered gains yesterday. Genting Singapore was at the bottom of the table, down 1.3 per cent to 77.5 cents.

Singtel was the most heavily traded blue-chip counter, with 16.6 million shares traded as it closed 0.4 per cent lower at $2.32.

Malaysian property developer Hatten Land - down 1.9 per cent to 5.2 cents - was also heavily traded after it said it would start crypto mining activities from only next month as supply chain disruptions have delayed the delivery of mining rigs. Its remarks were in response to queries from the Securities Investors Association (Singapore) on its operational plans, in relation to its mining ventures.