STI slips 0.2% on fears of second virus wave

A slight rise in the number of virus infections sparked fears of a second wave and put investors in a defensive mode yesterday.

The uneasy mood sent the Straits Times Index (STI) down 6.3 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 2,628.62, with 1.7 billion shares worth $1.26 billion changing hands, while losers outnumbered gainers 237 to 174.

Fears were sparked by news of seven new community cases in Singapore and a resurgence of 55 in Tokyo from nightlife destinations and staff working in the same place.

The STI's best performer was Mapletree Industrial Trust, which added 4.58 per cent to $2.97.

This followed strong demand for its private placement equity fund-raising exercise at the top end of its issue price range yesterday.

The issuance came hot on the heels of news of its acquisition from its sponsor of the remaining 60 per cent stake in 14 data centres in the United States for US$211 million (S$294 million).

The worst performing STI counter was transport operator ComfortDelGro, which came down from last week's high of $1.65, when it said it was partnering two French firms to bid for metro projects in the Greater Paris region. The stock fell 2.52 per cent to $1.55.

Top active Singapore eDevelopment shot up 64.29 per cent to 9.2 cents after announcing yesterday that its subsidiary proved in-vitro success in independent laboratory testing of a treatment and prophylactic to protect cells against Covid-19 and a surface disinfectant to kill the virus in very low concentrations. Around 363 million shares changed hands.

Regional markets were mixed. The Hang Seng Index slipped 0.5 per cent following Tuesday's healthy gains while Shanghai stocks rose 0.3 per cent.

South Korea's Kospi closed up 1.42 per cent as worries over tensions with North Korea eased. The won also rose 0.78 per cent, its sharpest daily gain in more than two weeks.

Japan's Nikkei inched down 0.07 per cent after those 55 new virus cases, the highest since the country lifted a national state of emergency.

"One surprise in the recent data has been the resiliency of activity data in emerging Asia even as the global economy slowed sharply and global demand remains below pre-pandemic levels," noted analysts at JPMorgan.

"This outcome largely appears to be due to the tech sector outperforming non-tech, most likely reflecting in part a temporary work-from-home boost to demand."