STI up 0.5%, bucks regional rout ahead of US inflation report

SINGAPORE stocks rose on Wednesday (Aug 10), defying a rout in the region as Asia markets turned nervy ahead of the release of a US inflation report after Wall Street posted losses.

Major indexes in Hong Kong, Japan, Australia and South Korea fell between 0.5 per cent and 2 per cent, but the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) closed 0.5 per cent or 15.35 points higher at 3,286.33.

Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 246 to 244, after 1.38 billion securities worth S$1.36 billion changed hands. 

The uptick coincided with the release of a report by RHB, which had analyst Shekhar Jaiswal giving his take that STI will deliver positive returns this year despite growing macroeconomic concerns, although he said the upward move will be “a slow grind”.

The country’s gross domestic product and earnings-per-share growth among the 50 stocks RHB tracks “will likely remain positive for 2022”, aided by positive growth in exports and a strong boost to the services sector in the second half, he said. 

Among STI constituents, Thai Beverage and Capitaland Investment were top performers, closing up 2.3 per cent and 2.2 per cent at S$0.665 and S$4.10 respectively. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding also outperformed, ending at S$0.95, up 1.6 per cent or S$0.015.

SEE ALSO

Asia: Markets drop on rate worries ahead of inflation data

Tokyo: Stocks close lower on Wednesday

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At the bottom of the performance table were Ascendas Reit, which shed 2.7 per cent or S$0.08 to close at S$2.93, and Venture Corporation, which lost 1.8 per cent or S$0.33 to end at S$18.01. 

In the broader market, Sembcorp Marine was the most actively traded counter by volume. The counter closed up 0.85 per cent at S$0.119 after 214 million of its shares worth S$25.5 million exchanged hands.