Singapore bourse stays afloat in Asia’s sea of red, STI closes flat

THE Straits Times Index (STI) ended Thursday (May 30) at 3,323.38, roughly unchanged from the previous day. Advancers were slightly behind decliners, at 271 to 288, and S$1.14 billion worth of securities changed hands.

It was a good showing, as Asian markets were nearly all in the red as sentiment weakened on interest rate expectations. South Korea sank the most, down 1.6 per cent. Indonesia was not far behind, down 1.5 per cent. Hong Kong and Japan both fell 1.3 per cent.

Among the most heavily traded STI constituents for the day was cargo and ground handler Sats , which ended at S$2.79. It was the best-performing STI constituent, up 6.1 per cent, extending gains from earlier in the week.

The market seemed to have an inkling that Sats would deliver exceptional financials for its FY2024 ended March. On Wednesday night, the company announced a profit of S$56.4 million – turning around from a loss of S$26.5 million in FY23. Revenue nearly trebled from S$1.76 billion to S$5.15 billion.

At its current level, however, Lim & Tan Securities said the stock may not offer the best value.

“Investors looking to find post Covid-19 recovery plays would be better off looking at Singapore Airlines (SIA) or SIA Engineering given the ... two companies have more attractive yields and also lower valuations,” the brokerage said in a client note.

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It has “accumulate” calls on both SIA and SIA Engineering, and a “hold” call on Sats.

The most heavily traded stock by value was Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings) , which hit an 52-week intra-day high of S$2.27. It closed up 2.3 per cent at S$2.25 – its seventh consecutive day of gains.