Singapore stocks buck downtrend in Asian markets; STI up 0.4%
Tay Peck Gek
SINGAPORE shares managed to buck the downtrend in most key Asian bourses on Wednesday (Apr 19).
The poor showing in the region came after two Federal Reserve officials overnight reaffirmed views that more interest rate hikes were needed.
The Straits Times Index (STI), with over 40 per cent of weighting made up by the local banking trio, rose 0.4 per cent or 14.49 points to 3,324.05 at the closing bell.
OCBC closed 0.9 per cent higher at S$12.89, UOB climbed 0.8 per cent to S$30.10, while DBS rose 0.6 per cent to S$32.95.
CGS-CIMB analysts expect Singapore banks to be likely beneficiaries of wealth inflows into the Republic in the first quarter of 2023 amid global volatility, given Singapore’s status as a financial safe haven.
Genting Singapore was the worst STI constituent performer, falling 2.6 per cent to S$1.13. The casino operator confirmed that it was fully out of the race for a licence in Japan when it responded to shareholders before its annual general meeting, days before Osaka was unveiled as the site to host the first casino in the North Asian country. The counter had notched 22.5 per cent in total return year to mid-April.
Electric carmaker Nio’s share price slid 5.8 per cent to US$9.21 amid a price war over electric cars in China. The company delivered 31,041 vehicles in the first quarter of 2023, up 20.5 per cent year on year, but its share price has declined 4.4 per cent in the year to Monday.
In the broader Singapore market, losers beat gainers 312 to 245. Some 1.16 billion securities changed hands, with a total trading value of S$958.7 million.
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