Singapore stocks fall on Monday amid Covid-19 fears; STI down 1%

IT WAS mostly a sea of red across the Singapore market on Monday, as investors' fears over Covid-19 grew, amid fresh community cases emerging in recent days.

The benchmark Straits Times Index fell 1 per cent or 33.51 points on Monday to close at 3,184.76. Across the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers 345 to 160, after 1.71 billion securities worth S$1.46 billion changed hands.

Margaret Yang, DailyFX strategist, said the virus situation, especially with the resurgence in India, is back under the spotlight. She noted that trading volumes on the Singapore Exchange were rather high on Monday - considering that major markets in China and Japan were closed - suggesting that investors may be getting very nervous from rising Covid-19 cases in the local community, and the tightening of social-distancing measures.

Nearly all the constituents on the STI ended in the red on Monday, with Wilmar International leading the decline. The counter fell 4 per cent or S$0.21 on Monday to close at S$5.01.

DBS Group Research said in a note on Monday that certain counters such as Genting Singapore and ComfortDelGro could be affected by the tightened Covid-19 measures, such as reduced capacity at attractions and employees being asked to work from home.

Genting Singapore shares fell 1.7 per cent on Monday to close at S$0.85; shares of ComfortDelGro also ended lower at S$1.69 down 1.7 per cent.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was the sole STI gainer on Monday, rising 2.8 per cent or S$0.04 to close at S$1.47. The company had on Thursday announced an 89 per cent increase in its first-quarter net profit, with its outstanding order book also at the highest level since 2009.

Elsewhere in the region, markets mostly closed lower on Monday. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 1.3 per cent to close at 28,357.54. The Kospi in South Korea ended 0.7 per cent lower at 3,127.2. Australia shares finished little changed on Monday, with the ASX 200 rising 0.04 per cent to close at 7,028.80.