Singapore stocks bleed as China indexes turn red, bucking regional trend

SINGAPORE - Singapore shares opened higher but closed in the red on Monday, joining China’s key indexes in red ink while the rest of the major Asian bourses registered gains.

The Straits Times Index (STI) declined 0.4 per cent, or 13.16 points, to 3,265.14, with 14 of the 30 constituents including the banking trio finishing lower.

China’s fiscal conditions still face persistent challenges this year, especially from falling land sales revenue and troubled local government financing, said Mr Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

“While stimulus mini is getting delivered, the deluge required to right the ship properly might not be coming down the pipe,” he said.

Analysts are expecting a weaker quarterly performance from UOB, DBS Bank and OCBC Bank in their upcoming second-quarter update, as they foresee a continued rise in the banks’ costs and provisions.

UOB and DBS shares fell 0.9 per cent to $28.36 and $32.44, respectively, while OCBC shares slipped 0.4 per cent to $12.64.

UOB will start the financial results update season on Thursday, followed by DBS on Aug 3 and OCBC on Aug 4.

Aztech Global was a mover against a sea of red in the technology sector. Its share price soared 12.1 per cent to 78.5 cents, after the company announced earnings of $29.5 million for the second quarter ended June, a record quarterly profit.

Singapore Exchange market strategist Geoff Howie pointed out that the counter saw a trading value of $3.7 million on Monday, up eightfold from its average trading levels in the year thus far.

“Monday’s trading turnover for Aztech Global was the highest since it reported the previous net profit record in July 2022,” he said.

Across the broader market, 253 counters were up while 319 were down, with the trading turnover at one billion securities valued at $765.4 million.

THE BUSINESS TIMES