Singapore bond market resilient amid stockmarket rout

Bonds are more defensive in choppy markets, says DBS Bank's head of fixed income

Published Mon, Aug 24, 2015 · 09:50 PM

DBS

Singapore

SINGAPORE bond investors are doing pretty well as prices remain resilient amid the stockmarket rout.

"In choppy markets, bonds are more defensive," said Clifford Lee, DBS Bank head of fixed income.

Although most bond prices are off their highs seen this year, there's little panic selling as fixed income investors stay the course in the flight to quality, he said.

The Markit iBoxx Singapore corporates total return index stood at 113.5925 last Friday, just fractionally off the all time high of 113.6704 reached on Aug 11.

Another bond index, the Singapore Fixed Income Indices (SFI) rose 0.18 per cent to 120.50 for the week ended Aug 21, said the Singapore Exchange.

The SFI's 0.18 per cent gain was in contrast to this year's largest weekly decline in the Singapore equity market. The Singapore equity market, as represented by the Straits Times Index (STI), declined 4.60 per cent last week; this is the STI's largest weekly decline since the week of Aug …