Singapore shares end Friday in the red; STI falls 0.5%

SINGAPORE stocks closed lower on Friday (Apr 5), tracking falls in most regional markets.

The benchmark Straits Times Index retreated 0.5 per cent or 16.75 points to 3,218.26.

Across the local bourse, decliners outnumbered advancers 291 to 273, as 1.4 billion securities worth S$940.5 million changed hands.

Indices in the region declined on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 2 per cent, while the South Korean Kospi Composite Index closed down 1 per cent. Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index retreated 0.3 per cent.

The Hang Seng Index closed almost flat after resuming from the Qing Ming break.

Back home, the top gainer on the STI was conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings : J36 0%, which rose 1.8 per cent or US$0.64 to US$37.13.

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At the bottom of the index was local bank DBS : D05 0%, which lost 2.3 per cent or S$0.82 to S$35.50.

The other two local banks were also in the red. OCBC : O39 0% slid 0.2 per cent or S$0.02 to S$13.74 while UOB : U11 0% fell 0.2 per cent or S$0.06 to S$29.40.

Outside the Straits Times Index, transport operator ComfortDelGro : C52 0% climbed 1.4 per cent or S$0.02 to S$1.47.

In a report released on Friday, RHB maintained its strong earnings growth outlook for the mainboard-listed group in 2024 and assessed that recent new contract wins by its UK subsidiary to operate buses in Manchester will increase ComfortDelGro’s FY2025 earnings by 1.8 to 3.6 per cent.