Singapore shares close flat on Thursday; STI up 0.03%
Tay Peck Gek
SINGAPORE’S blue-chip barometer Straits Times Index (STI) turned in a flattish performance on Thursday (Nov 16), although that came after narrowing losses during the day.
The STI closed 0.93 point or 0.03 per cent higher at 3,133.05 points.
Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, pointed out that Asian shares had recovered from earlier losses in the day; European stock futures recorded a subdued opening, amid concerns that the markets had jumped too far over their skis.
The concern is that markets are now overestimating the chances of full-on Federal Reserve policy accommodation, Innes said.
Eighteen STI constituents were in the red at the closing bell, and three were unchanged.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) shares closed at S$6.22, having risen 0.3 per cent a day after the national carrier reported a 24.5 per cent year-on-year increase in passenger traffic in October, amid robust passenger traffic across all its route regions. However, its passenger load was 87.4 per cent in October, declining marginally by 0.3 percentage points from September’s 87.7 per cent.
iFast’s closing price reached a 52-week high at S$7.73, up 0.4 per cent, following a three-week climb since it published a 308 per cent surge in its third-quarter net profit in late October. Its shareholders can look forward to more generous dividend payouts in tandem with expected “substantially” higher revenue and profits, its chief executive had said at the October results briefing.
Decliners outnumbered gainers 315 to 282 across the broader market, as about 1.3 billion securities worth a total of S$982.2 million were transacted.
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