STI closes 0.4% higher on first trading day of the week

SINGAPORE shares ended the first trading day of the week in positive territory, edging up by 0.4 per cent or 10.07 points to 2,537.56. Advancers outnumbered decliners 251 to 191, with 2.38 billion securities worth S$1.1 billion changing hands. 

This came despite the state's core inflation slipping to a decade-low of -0.4 per cent, with the pace of its fall widening from -0.2 per cent in the month before. The government authorities have kept their full-year forecast for both core and all-items inflation to remain subdued and range between zero and -1 per cent in 2020.

UOB economist Barnabas Gan said the rate of deflation could taper off if Singapore's tourism industry sees some pickup following the recent easing of in-bound travel restrictions. However, he expects deflation pressures to persist for the rest of the year. 

"The mix of falling domestic and tourism-led demand, coupled with low oil prices for the rest of 2020, are formidable headwinds against consumer prices," he added. 

Gateway services provider SATS booked the biggest gains among the constituent stocks, closing 5.48 per cent higher or S$0.16 up at S$3.08; investors got active after the company reversed into the red with a loss of S$43.7 million for its first quarter ended June, compared to a profit of S$54.7 million a year ago. The company's reduction in group expenditures was outpaced by a 54 per cent plunge in revenue to S$209.4 million on the back of declines from both its gateway services and food-solutions segments.

Singapore Airlines, too, gained S$0.04 or 1.1 per cent over the course of the day to close at S$3.68, as investors were buoyed by news of the state reopening its borders to travellers from Brunei and New Zealand on Friday. 

Singtel investors got active following news of the telco's partnership with Network for Electronic Transfers (Nets) and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to provide more cross-border digital-payment opportunities in South-east Asia. The counter gained S$0.02 or 0.88 per cent to close at S$2.30, with some 21.1 million shares traded. 

Thai Beverage was both the biggest decliner and most actively traded stock of the day, closing S$0.015 or 2.42 per cent lower at S$0.605. Some 69.6 million shares had changed hands through the day. 

Other decliners included real estate giant CapitaLand, which lost S$0.02 or 0.72 per cent to close at S$2.76, and Wilmar International, which closed S$0.03 lower or 0.67 per cent down at S$4.42. 

Banks ended the day mixed. DBS gained S$0.06 or 0.29 per cent to S$20.79, OCBC fell S$0.06 or 0.69 per cent to S$8.61. UOB shed S$0.07 or 0.35 per cent to close at S$19.85. 

Elsewhere in Asia, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index slipped 0.54 per cent or 8.54 points to close at 1,568.58 points. The Nikkei 225 Index gained 0.28 per cent or 65.21 points, while the Hang Seng Composite Index gained 2.13 per cent or 82.13 points.