Singapore stocks track regional declines; STI down 0.04%

SINGAPORE shares declined with other regional markets on Thursday (Sep 29), with the Straits Times Index (STI) shedding 0.04 per cent or 1.23 points to close at 3,115.08.

Across the broader market, losers beat gainers 292 to 235, with 1.4 billion shares worth S$1.9 billion having been traded.

Regional markets were in the red, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index shedding 0.5 per cent, the Jakarta Composite Index declining 0.6 per cent and the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index falling 0.3 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was an outlier, gaining 1 per cent.

Saxo market strategist Charu Chanana noted that the broad-based S&P 500 snapped its 6-day rout on Wednesday to rise 2 per cent, as the dollar weakened across the board, supporting gains.

Still, Saxo’s head of equity strategy Peter Garnry warned of more pain ahead as analysts may be “way off” in their estimates for the S&P 500 for the third quarter.

“It is highly probable that there will be significant misses to the downside, followed by gloomy comments from company management about the outlook on margins,” he said.

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Sats’ play for cargo handler Worldwide Flight Services wipes S$1b off market cap

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On the STI, Keppel Corp was the biggest gainer, rising by 2.5 per cent or S$0.17 to close at S$6.93.

Sats , on the other hand, was at the bottom of the table, plunging 20.7 per cent or S$0.80 to S$3.07. This comes after it announced its acquisition of cargo handler Worldwide Flight Sesrvices for 1.3 billion euros (S$1.9 billion).

Singtel was also heavily traded, rising 1.9 per cent or S$0.05 to close at SS2.67; 73.5 million shares worth S$197 million were traded.