Singapore shares extend rally as virus worries begin to fade

AS attention pivots away from concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus, risk-friendly activity in the region's equity markets continued to pick up on Thursday.

Even though fatality and infection cases from the virus are still rising - more than 560 deaths and over 28,000 diagnosed, most Asia-Pacific indices recorded strong early gains.

The reasons: Wall Street soldiers on to new record highs on strong US corporate earnings and economic data, the Chinese central bank's stimulus injection has calmed fears of a sharp slowdown in its economy, and word that a cure for the virus was being developed (it was later played down by the World Health Organization).

But equities still had further to run. The icing on the cake in a largely positive day was Beijing's decision to halve the tariffs on US goods which had been in force since Sept 1, 2019.

AxiCorp chief market strategist Stephen Innes said: "The significance of the olive branch in the market's eye is the announcement comes a day after President Trump's State of the Union address, where he called the current US-China relationship the best."

By the end of Thursday's session, Singapore's Straits Times Index (STI) finished 31.42 points or 1 per cent higher at 3,231.55. It is the first time since Jan 23 that the STI is in the black for the year.

Elsewhere, Australia, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan were also up. South Korea's Kospi was the standout, jumping 62.31 points or 2.9 per cent to 2,227.94 - its largest single-day rise in 15 months.

Trading volume in Singapore clocked in at 2.01 billion securities, 70 per cent over the 2019 daily average. Meanwhile, total turnover was S$1.37 billion, 30 per cent more than last year's intraday mean.

Advancers beat decliners 271 to 161. Four of the benchmark's 30 counters ended in the red.

Among STI counters, ComfortDelGro shares added S$0.10 or 4.7 per cent to S$2.24 after DBS Group Research upgraded its recommendation on the transport operator to "Buy". The research house said share prices have corrected in recent weeks to account for the effect of the coronavirus on its Chinese businesses.

In what seems like a complete reversal from last week, the local market's battered energy stocks made gains on the back of higher oil prices even as global inventories have increased.

Oil proxies like Rex International (up 0.4 Singapore cent or 2.3 per cent to 17.8 cents), GSS Energy (up 0.5 Singapore cent or 5.9 per cent to S$0.09) and AusGroup (up 0.3 Singapore cent or 7.9 per cent to 4.1 cents) were actively traded.

Rigmakers were also up. Keppel Corporation advanced S$0.03 or 0.5 per cent to S$6.75 while Sembcorp Marine climbed S$0.03 or 2.6 per cent to S$1.20.

The Singapore Exchange welcomed its first listing of 2020 on the Mainboard when trading in Elite Commercial Reit units commenced at 2pm. The UK-focused real estate investment trust (Reit) closed at £0.71, up 4.4 per cent on its IPO price of £0.68.

BlackGold Natural Resources was the Singapore bourse's most traded counter, climbing 0.5 Singapore cent or 33.3 per cent to two cents with 86.3 million shares changing hands. On Wednesday, the coal miner announced plans to raise up to S$25 million by issuing convertible bonds to three investors.