Singapore shares inch up on Tuesday, STI rises 0.1%

NEWS of Singapore's core inflation in February returning to positive territory for the first time in over a year, as well as Singapore and Malaysia agreeing to work towards recognising each other's vaccine certificates to facilitate cross-border travel, gave investor sentiment a slight lift on Tuesday.

The benchmark Straits Times Index rose marginally, gaining 0.1 per cent or 3.66 points to close at 3,131.74. Decliners outnumbered advancers 303 to 185, with 1.99 billion securities worth some S$2.2 billion having changed hands.

Despite certain positive news across markets, Axi's chief global markets strategist Stephen Innes noted that "the post virus boom narrative has taken a bit of a hit from several sources".

"Asia demand is still struggling due to lingering pandemic effects, and Europe vaccination efforts are consistently aiming at their own feet rather than their citizen's arms," he said.

On the Singapore bourse, CapitaLand was the biggest advancer after the conglomerate on Monday announced a restructuring exercise through which its real-estate development business will be placed under private ownership, while its investment management platforms and lodging arm will be consolidated into a newly-created listed entity. The stock closed at S$3.75 on Tuesday, up 13.3 per cent or S$0.44.

Jardine Strategic Holdings was the second top advancer, adding 0.4 per cent or US$0.15 to finish the day at US$34.25.

On the other end of the spectrum, DBS was the biggest decliner for the day. The counter ended Tuesday at S$28.20, down 0.6 per cent or S$0.18.

The other lenders finished the day in the black. OCBC added 0.7 per cent or S$0.08 to S$11.62; UOB gained 0.1 per cent or S$0.03 to S$25.48.

Also among the top losers was Top Glove, which fell 5.7 per cent or S$0.10 to S$1.66. Another glove manufacturer, UG Healthcare, lost 1.7 per cent or S$0.01 to S$0.58. Riverstone Holdings ended the day flat at S$1.25.

Oceanus was the most heavily traded counter for the day, with some 140.1 million shares changing hands. The stock closed at 3.9 Singapore cents on Tuesday, down 2.5 per cent or 0.1 cent.

Other heavily traded stocks were AusGroup, CapitaLand and Sembcorp Marine.

Elsewhere in the region, stock markets generally ended the day in the red. The Nikkei fell 0.6 per cent; the Hang Seng Index slipped 1.3 per cent, and the KLCI shed 1.3 per cent. The Kospi and Jakarta Composite Index lost 1 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively.