Singapore shares end Tuesday flat as investors move with caution
Uma Devi
LOCAL shares ended Tuesday (Jul 18) largely unchanged, as traders approached capital markets with caution, mainly surrounding the usual suspects – inflation, interest rates and the upcoming corporate earnings season.
The benchmark Straits Times Index ended the trading day with a loss of just 0.17 point to close at 3,254.26. Daily turnover came in at 1.1 billion securities worth a collective S$812.9 million. Advancers narrowly beat out decliners 285 to 273.
Qontigo’s head of applied research for the Asia-Pacific, Olivier d’Assier, noted that market rallies globally, with the exception of Japan, appear to be “out of sync with a weakening sentiment and may not be sustainable”.
“There are a lot of risk-averse investors waiting on the sidelines for a clear sign that it is safe to jump back into equities,” he said.
“For now, without further clarity on the above, the base-case scenario for the second half of 2023 is a mirror of the first half’s performance, simply because markets hate giving even the appearance that they are being blatantly anti-symmetric.”
Thinly-traded special-purpose acquisition company Novo Tellus was the top gainer on the local bourse, rising 3.7 per cent or S$0.17 to close at S$4.71.
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iFast Corp , which is set to announce its H1 and Q2 financial results next Tuesday after the market close, also made significant gains. The counter rose 1.7 per cent or S$0.08 to S$4.83.
Venture Corporation was among the top decliners for the day, shedding 0.9 per cent or S$0.13 to S$14.91.
Beng Kuang Marine was one of the most heavily traded counters by volume on Tuesday, with about 22.4 million shares traded. The watch-listed counter rose 15.8 per cent or S$0.012 to close at S$0.088.
Other heavily traded stocks for the day included Seatrium , Marco Polo Marine and Parkson Retail .
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