Singapore stocks end flat on Thursday; most Asian markets decline
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Tan Nai Lun
SINGAPORE shares were flat at the close on Thursday (Oct 20), while most regional markets ended lower as inflation worries continue to weigh on investors.
The Straits Times Index (STI) ended down 0.1 point to 3,022.7. Gainers outnumbered losers 266 to 257, with 1.6 billion securities worth S$1.1 billion changing hands.
The trio of local banks saw mixed trading on Thursday, with DBS falling 0.5 per cent to S$32.69 and UOB losing 0.4 per cent to S$26.16. OCBC was flat at S$11.64.
Meanwhile, the top gainer on the STI was Yangzijiang Shipbuilding , which gained 6.1 per cent to S$1.21 at the close. Some 137 million shares worth S$166 million changed hands, making it one of the top traded counters by volume on Thursday.
Genting Singapore also saw active trading, with 54.1 million shares worth S$43.2 million changing hands. The counter was up 1.9 per cent at S$0.79.
On Thursday, hospitality group Las Vegas Sands said Marina Bay Sands’ net revenue contribution more than trebled for the quarter ended Sep 30, on the back of tourism recovery in Singapore.
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Elsewhere in Asia, key indices were largely lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.9 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.4 per cent and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.3 per cent. Meanwhile, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia was up 1.6 per cent.
Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG, noted that higher-than-expected September inflation numbers in the UK and Canada “pose a reminder that global tightening is far from over”.
“Adding to the inflation worries are the increasing growth risks, as more firms are growing more pessimistic about the outlook from the recent Fed beige book,” he said.
Yeap added that China’s party congress had failed to drive a positive catalyst for Asia stocks, while rising Covid-19 cases have also raised the risk of aggressive containment measures in Beijing.
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