STI finishes flat, up 2.32 pts to post 6th straight day of gains

SINGAPORE shares struggled - and managed - to close in positive territory on Thursday, after spending much of the day under the water.

The key Straits Times Index finished marginally higher by 2.32 points or 0.07 per cent at 3,257.30 to record its sixth consecutive day of gains.

Asian bourses had a mixed showing with gauges in Japan, China, South Korea retreating as those in Hong Kong, Australia, Taiwan and Malaysia finished higher.

The much-anticipated US consumer price index data for December indicated the biggest annual increase in 40 years, but none of that came as a shock, given that the market had widely expected "hot" inflation data. Moreover, investors were already expecting the US Federal Reserve to raise rates as soon as March this year, in addition to a fast balance sheet run off to tame inflation.

Jack Janasiewicz, Natixis Investment Managers Solutions' portfolio manager and lead portfolio strategist, said: "Combine this with base effects, Covid-related improvements in supply chains and labour markets, the Fed's tough talk on inflation, balance sheet management and some modest fiscal tightening, and we very well could see inflation prints beginning to soften to a pace that some are not expecting."

He added: "Plenty of hawkish takes abound right now... And while the Fed continues to talk tough, they are also trying to buy time and let the economy normalise... Remember, it's what's priced into markets currently that matters. And there's a lot of hawkishness baked in at current levels. Maybe too much."

Traders are expected to shift their focus next to the fourth-quarter reporting season.

On the home front, some 1.19 billion units worth S$943.95 million were traded in the Singapore bourse. Gainers outpaced losers with 233 counters up and 228 down. Gains were led by CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) and Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT).

MLT and MIT both inched up S$0.050 to finish the day at S$1.79 and S$2.64 respectively. The manager of MLT, in its responses to unit holders' questions for an extraordinary general meeting, stated that it has no plans to merge the logistics real estate investment trust (Reit) with MIT, even as 2 other Reits from their sponsor have proposed a merger.

Singapore Exchange added S$0.010 or 0.10 per cent to S$9.65. Its monthly market report issued on Thursday said that total securities market turnover on the exchange in terms of value fell 20 per cent in December 2021 to S$19.6 billion from a year ago; the securities daily average value declined 23 per cent over the same period to S$852 million.

Singapore Airlines gained S$0.020 or 0.40 per cent to S$5.04. The national carrier, the first Asian airline to tap the debt market for US dollars this year, successfully priced its US$600 million seven-year senior bonds on Thursday, said DBS, the joint global coordinator and joint book runner for the issue.

Grand Venture Technology fell S$0.030 or 2.56 per cent to S$1.14. In a report issued this week, CGS-CIMB Research reiterated its "add" rating on the stock of the precision manufacturing solutions provider, with a target price at S$1.74, citing management's continued focus on growing the company, both organically and inorganically.