Bulls And Bears

STI tumbles on growing Wuhan coronavirus fears

Worrying picture for investors in region as deaths from virus cross 100 in China

The local equity market faced a vicious sell-off on its return from the Chinese New Year holiday.

Deaths from the Wuhan coronavirus crossed 100 yesterday in China, presenting a worrying picture for many investors both here and in the region. Fears were also exacerbated by the World Health Organisation raising the global risk level of the virus to "high" despite it being confident in China's ability to control the spread.

"With coronavirus worries on the rise, the market continues to struggle with the unenviable task of factoring in absolute terms its implied economic devastation," said Mr Stephen Innes, AxiTrader's chief Asia market strategist.

In Singapore, where seven cases of the virus have been confirmed, the Straits Times Index (STI) opened sharply lower.

The STI traded lower by as much as 2.9 per cent before recovering slightly to end at 3,181.25, giving up 58.77 points or 1.8 per cent.

Elsewhere, Australia, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea were markedly lower. China, Hong Kong and Taiwan markets were closed for the Chinese New Year holiday.

Trading volume here was 2.49 billion securities, more than double last year's daily average, with much of the activity down to penny play. Total turnover was $2.08 billion, 96 per cent over last year's intra-day mean.

Decliners trumped advancers 400 to 98. All 30 of the benchmark's counters ended in the loss column.

With investor focus on the spread of the virus, attention was on accumulation of beneficiaries of the outbreak like medical groups and rubber-glove makers.

Medtecs International, a manufacturer and distributor of medical consumables, continued its run as the hotly traded stock on the Singapore Exchange. It advanced 65.4 per cent to 17.2 cents - an all-time high - with 325.2 million shares changing hands.

Top Glove surged 23.7 per cent to close at $2.35.

Their gains came at the expense of listings with considerable Chinese exposure.

Sasseur Reit, which temporarily closed its four outlet malls in the Chinese cities of Chongqing, Hefei and Kunming, lost 10.3 per cent to close at 78.5 cents.

Other property trusts with sizeable exposure to China also took a beating. Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust units fell 5.7 per cent to $1.17. CapitaLand Retail China Trust, which has a portfolio of 10 retail malls in China, dropped 6.1 per cent to $1.53.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 29, 2020, with the headline STI tumbles on growing Wuhan coronavirus fears. Subscribe