Singapore market dips on China data

THE Singapore market trended lower, like most other Asian markets, after Chinese manufacturing readings failed to meet expectations. This brought worries of weakness in the world's second-largest economy, despite Beijing's attempts to spur growth.

"The softer-than-expected leading indicators in April suggests that economic recovery in China remains fragile and supportive fiscal and monetary policies are still necessary to see through further stabilisation in growth this year," UOB economist Ho Woei Chen, noted.

"As such, this could dispel market concerns that the Chinese government is scaling back stimulus."

In Singapore, the Straits Times Index pared some of Monday's gains on broad declines to enter the midweek break at 3,400.20, down 6.82 points or 0.2 per cent.

CMC Markets' market analyst, Margaret Yang, said: "With Tuesday being the last trading day for April, investors might have been enticed to undertake profit-taking in order to lock in gains from the decent four-month rally before we head into May - which is seasonally a bad month for equities."

IG market strategist Pan Jingyi agreed investors turned to profit-taking but "the disappointing Chinese data remained the trigger for market performance in Singapore on Tuesday"

Elsewhere in Asia, Australia, Hong Kong, and South Korea closed lower while China and Malaysia posted gains. Markets in Japan were closed.

In Singapore, trading clocked in at 911.33 million securities, 72 per cent of the daily average over the first three months of 2019. Total turnover came to S$1.26 billion, 23 per cent higher than the January-to-March daily average.

Across the market, decliners outpaced advancers 239 to 153. Nineteen of the STI's 30 components ending in the red.

Genting Singapore was the blue-chip index's most traded. The casino operator closed flat at 98.5 Singapore cents with 34.9 million shares changing hands.

The banking trio, which gave the benchmark index a lift to close at a 2019 high of 3,407.02, closed lower on Tuesday.

DBS Group Holdings closed S$0.15 or 0.5 per cent lower at S$28.25, a day after posting a 9 per cent increase in first-quarter net profit to S$1.65 billion. OCBC Bank dropped two Singapore cents or 0.2 per cent to close at S$12.10 while United Overseas Bank dipped S$0.14 or 0.5 per cent to S$27.83.

Food and beverage firm ThaiBev continued to trade higher, ending at Tuesday's trading at at S$0.84, up 0.5 Singapore cent or 0.6 per cent. The counter is up 37.7 per cent this year.

Among non-STI counters, mainboard-listed China Everbright Water saw its shares slide on heavy volume as the company revealed that it has priced its Hong Kong public offering at HK$2.99 (S$0.52) apiece.

The counter ended five Singapore cents or 10.2 per cent lower at S$0.44, on 29.9 million shares traded.

Meanwhile, property developer Oxley Holdings shares advanced 2.5 Singapore cents or 8.3 per cent to close at 32.5 Singapore cents after it inked a deal to sell Chevron House for up to S$1.025 billion, 16 months after acquiring the prime office building in Raffles Place for S$660 million in December 2017.

The Singapore market will return to trading on Thursday with much to contend with.

IG's Ms Pan said: "Investors will be waking up on Thursday to digest the impact of the slew of earnings in the US, including Apple, in addition to the Federal Open Market Committee meeting conclusion on Wednesday.

For full listings of SGX prices, go to https://www2.sgx.com/