Singapore stocks buck downtrend in key Asian markets; STI up 0.3%
Tay Peck Gek
SINGAPORE shares were spared the rout in other Asian markets on Friday (Apr 21), after the Straits Times Index (STI) managed to rally in the afternoon session and claw back losses.
The STI rose 0.3 per cent or 8.41 points to 3,321.82. The gauge was 0.6 per cent higher than last Friday’s close.
Asian markets were in a sea of red after a sell-off on Wall Street on Thursday. Sentiment was hit by the Federal Reserve possibly further raising interest rates, a slowing economy with accompanying recession fears, as well as lacklustre earnings from Tesla and several regional banks.
“Indeed, weaker US data and softer earnings reports set an unsavoury breakfast table for Asia to wake to,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
Singapore Airlines posted a 0.5 per cent gain in its share price to S$5.86. The group flew 2.7 million passengers in March, up 14.1 per cent month on month at a group load factor of 89 per cent, or 2.4 percentage points higher month on month.
Another STI stock, Genting Singapore , closed 1.8 per cent higher at S$1.16, a day after Singapore achieved post-pandemic record-high tourist arrivals of one million in March. CGS-CIMB raised its target price on the integrated resort operator to S$1.26 from S$1.15 after the good performance of its peer, Marina Bay Sands. The research house’s higher projections are based on expectations that the group’s profitability will continue to improve throughout the year, as flight capacities to and from China gradually increase with the country’s reopening.
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Decliners beat gainers 289 to 255 in the broader market, with about 1.3 billion securities worth a total of S$1 billion changing hands.
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