• Shares of SIA, Genting S'pore and Sats lead advancers
• Keppel DC Reit ends at bottom of table with 2.1% decline
• Index up 0.02%, with gainers outnumbering losers 301 to 210
Aviation and hospitality-related counters posted strong gains yesterday, even though the broader Singapore market performance remained muted.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.02 per cent to close at 3,113.49. Gainers outnumbered losers 301 to 210 after 2.18 billion securities worth $1.44 billion changed hands.
Shares of Singapore Airlines, Genting Singapore and Sats led the gainers, rising 7.6 per cent, 4.8 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively.
Outside the index, counters such as CDL Hospitality Trusts and Ascott Residence Trust gained over 5 per cent each. The optimism followed an announcement by the Government over the weekend that the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) arrangement would be expanded to 11 countries, including the United States and Britain. Fewer Covid-19 tests would also be required for travellers on the VTL.
Even so, tighter restrictions were announced for unvaccinated individuals, prohibiting dining in and visiting shopping malls. In a note yesterday, DBS Group Research said: "Nonetheless, we do not see significant shifts in traffic patterns at malls, given our high vaccination status, and continue to expect suburban malls with dominant positioning to see recurrent traffic and sales, and lead the retail recovery."
DBS said it continues to lean towards suburban plays like Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT) and Lendlease Global Commercial Reit, but added that investors may look to enter early into Orchard plays as sentiment for central malls get an uplift with the return of tourists. Lendlease units rose 0.6 per cent yesterday while FCT units closed unchanged.
Keppel DC Reit finished at the bottom of the STI performance table with a 2.1 per cent decline.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets were mixed. Shares in Japan and Hong Kong ended higher, with the Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng Index up 1.6 per cent and 2 per cent respectively. However, Australia's ASX 200 and the Shanghai Composite Index dipped, falling 0.3 per cent and 0.01 per cent respectively.
