STI down 0.3% as some key regional bourses close in the red

SINGAPORE - Singapore’s Straits Times Index (STI) slid 0.3 per cent, or 9.7 points, to 3,309.56 points on Tuesday as some key indexes in the Asia-Pacific closed in the red after China released its economic data.

In spite of better-than-expected Chinese economic output data, most of the indexes in the region failed to sustain the initial lift from the upside surprise after a closer scrutiny showed that the Chinese economic recovery in the first quarter has been uneven.

Mr Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, said of the Chinese data: “The consumer has been doing a lot of the heavy lifting... The fixed asset investment and industrial production figures were less inspiring, both comfortably falling short of expectations and highlighting the challenges facing the economy this year. It is not just the pandemic that the country is bouncing back from – confidence in the property market has been severely undermined, and it will take time to recover.”

The STI constituents were mainly down, with the banking trio among the 12 index counters closing in the red, while another 11 were flat. OCBC Bank closed down 0.8 per cent at $12.78, UOB declined 0.7 per cent to $29.85, and DBS Group Holdings slid 0.3 per cent to $32.75. Singapore conglomerate Sembcorp Industries was the worst STI performer, falling 1.4 per cent to $4.25.

Non-STI counter Keppel Pacific Oak US Reit units were 1.4 per cent lower at 36.5 US cents, before the real estate investment trust that is focused on commercial properties in the United States released its first-quarter business update.

As for key regional indexes, Hong Kong lost 0.63 per cent, while South Korea fell 0.19 per cent. Australia eased 0.29 per cent. Japan finished 0.51 per cent higher and China’s Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.23 per cent. THE BUSINESS TIMES