Undeterred by negative macro data, the Straits Times Index (STI) recorded its third climb in a row yesterday, ending mid-week up 0.46 per cent to 2,574.73 points.
This was despite dismal preliminary employment numbers, which registered their sharpest quarterly contraction in 17 years, and an 85 per cent plummet in visitor arrivals to Singapore last month compared with the year before.
CapitaLand Commercial Trust and CapitaLand Mall Trust were the best performers among the index constituents. Units of the former added 4.67 per cent to $1.57; units of the latter gained 4 per cent to $1.82. Both Reits are completing a merger to make the combined entity the third-largest Reit in the Asia-Pacific region.
Shares of Singapore Press Holdings rose 2.7 per cent to $1.52, after its announcement that it would divest its wholly-owned subsidiary Buzz Shop to Thai-Pore Enterprise for an undisclosed sum.
At the bottom of the STI's performance table was Jardine Cycle & Carriage, after analysts made across-the-board cuts to its statutory estimates, revising both their revenue and earnings per share forecasts downwards to reflect a 29 per cent decline in anticipated earnings per share to US$1.59. This is down from about US$1.94 previously. Its shares lost 1.26 per cent to $19.55.
Advancers outnumbered decliners 249 to 159 for the day, with 1.35 billion shares worth $1.21 billion changing hands.
The most heavily traded stock was LionGold. Its shares ended flat at $0.001, although the only announcement it made recently was the appointment of Mr Sun Shu as lead independent director.
Most Asian markets finished positive. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index gained 0.59 per cent, while the Hang Seng Index rose 0.28 per cent. The Nikkei 225 Index, however, dipped 0.06 per cent.
This marks the third day that the MSCI Asia Pacific Index has climbed, putting Asia-Pacific stocks on the path to join global peers in a bull market, having risen more than 20 per cent from their recent lows. Energy shares and drugmakers are leading the Asian rebound.
"South-east Asian equity markets have rallied as the 'peak-virus' trade picks up momentum. Markets are pricing that the partial reopening of economies around the world will spark an immediate spurt of growth," said Mr Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at Oanda.
•Additional reporting by Bloomberg, Reuters
