Local shares fell alongside regional markets yesterday on fears of a resurgence of the virus, as the Philippine central bank unexpectedly cut its benchmark interest rate to a new low to support the country's economy that has been ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had also said on Wednesday that it now expects an even deeper global recession, with output likely to shrink 4.9 per cent this year rather than the 3 per cent contraction it had predicted in April.
The Straits Times Index (STI) fell 38.47 points, or 1.46 per cent, to 2,590.15. Losers outnumbered gainers 268 to 124, with 1.49 billion securities worth $1.39 billion traded.
All counters fell except for Jardine Matheson and Jardine Strategic.
Real estate companies performed the worst yesterday.
Property developer UOL fell 20 cents, or 2.86 per cent, to $6.80, despite a bullish CGS-CIMB report yesterday that named UOL among the top picks for its high recurring income base supported by rentals, hotel operations and investment holdings, as well as good office exposure through United Industrial Corp.
Before it fell yesterday, the stock was trading at a 42 per cent discount to revalued net asset value.
Conversely, Jardine Matheson rose 32 US cents, or 0.77 per cent, to US$41.98 on share purchases done earlier in the week. Shares of Jardine Strategic rose 19 US cents, or 0.87 per cent, to US$22.15. The two counters tend to move in tandem with each other due to their cross-shareholding structure.
The most active counter of the day was still Catalist-listed Singapore eDevelopment, continuing its share surge from Wednesday. It rose 0.8 cents, or 8.7 per cent, to 10 cents on the possible success of Covid 19-related medical products that its subsidiary produces. Close to 195 million shares changed hands.
Regional markets mostly fell, including the Malaysian KLCI (0.89 per cent), Nikkei 225 (1.22 per cent) and Hang Seng (0.5 per cent), while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3 per cent.
As world stocks spluttered, Mr Damian Rooney, director of institutional research sales at stockbroker Argonaut, said: "There is a little bit of reality bites coming. I don't think there was a particular straw that broke the camel's back, but people are a little bit twitchy - there are a lot of reasons to be pretty cautious."
Gold held firm, after hitting a nearly eight-year high in the last session, as an upsurge in global coronavirus cases drove safe-haven buying.
• With additional information from Reuters
