Singapore stocks buck Asia rout to extend rally; STI up 0.2%

SINGAPORE – Regional markets went into reverse gear on Thursday ahead of impending United States inflation figures, but Singapore shares defied the trend to extend their rally for a fifth consecutive session.

The local optimism lifted the Straits Times Index (STI) by a modest 0.2 per cent or 7.68 points to 3,173.18.

Gainers edged out losers 257 to 251, after 1.57 billion shares worth $1.13 billion changed hands.

Elsewhere, the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.4 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.7 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 1 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.9 per cent. Australian shares ended their winning streak as well, falling 0.5 per cent.

The declines followed a painful session on Wall Street overnight on news of huge layoffs at Meta and a Tesla shares sell-off. That sent the S&P 500 falling 2.1 per cent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq sank 2.5 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 2 per cent lower.

“Risk sentiment took a beating again as the midterm election fever faded with a lack of a Republican wave, and focus shifted back to the crypto turmoil and continued surge in Covid-19 cases in China,” said Saxo market strategist Charu Chanana.

DFI Retail Group was the biggest winner on Singapore’s blue-chip index, closing 3.3 per cent higher at US$2.50. The biggest loser among STI constituents was Sats, which fell 6.3 per cent to $2.55. The inflight caterer and ground handler had reported after markets closed on Wednesday that it recorded a net loss of $9.9 million for its second quarter.

Singtel was the most heavily traded blue-chip stock, closing 3.1 per cent higher at $2.63, after 59.4 million shares changed hands. The telco declared a special dividend on Thursday, with net profit up 23 per cent for the first half.

The trio of local banks ended mixed. DBS fell 0.4 per cent to $34.54, OCBC dipped 0.1 per cent to $12.24, while UOB rose 0.2 per cent to $29.21.

THE BUSINESS TIMES