Singapore stocks begin week in the black, STI up 0.2%

LOCAL shares edged up on Monday, as investor sentiment was lifted by Singapore's core and headline inflation figures from the Department of Statistics' consumer price index (CPI) figures continuing on a positive trend for April.

The benchmark Straits Times Index rose 0.2 per cent or 5.72 points to 3,123.61. Advancers outnumbered decliners 248 to 193, with some 1.44 billion securities worth S$1.04 billion changing hands.

Singapore Exchange's market strategist Geoff Howie said "positive developments in global efforts to overcome the coronavirus" could also have given investor optimism a lift.

"On Sunday, new daily confirmed global Covid-19 cases reached eight-week lows, which followed Thursday's record of more than 33 million vaccine doses administered in one day," he said.

With the latest CPI report "right on expectations", Mr Howie is expecting more "local focus" on Tuesday, with the final gross domestic product (GDP) report for Q1 and industrial production reports for April due.

On the local bourse, tech play iFast Corporation was the biggest gainer. The stock advanced 2.1 per cent or S$0.16 to end the day at S$7.69. Jardine Cycle and Carriage was another gainer, adding 0.6 per cent or S$0.12 to S$22.00.

On the other end of the spectrum, Jardine Matheson Holdings was the biggest loser. The stock closed at US$63.90 on Monday, down 1.3 per cent or US$0.83.

Aviation-related stocks were among the decliners for the day, as the recent spike in virus cases in the community trampled on hopes of a recovery in the sector. Singapore Airlines lost 0.6 per cent or S$0.03 to S$4.74; Sats fell 1.3 per cent or S$0.05 to S$3.70.

Glove stocks, too, began the week in the red. Top Glove fell 0.6 per cent or S$0.01 to S$1.70; Riverstone lost 1.4 per cent or S$0.02 to S$1.45, and UG Healthcare shed 1.5 per cent or S$0.01 to 65.5 cents.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets ended the day mixed. The Nikkei 225 rose 0.2 per cent, and the KLCI added 0.6 per cent. The Hang Seng Index and Jakarta Composite Index each fell 0.2 per cent, and the Kospi lost 0.4 per cent.