Singapore shares snap 2024 losing streak on Friday as STI gains 0.3%

SINGAPORE stocks snapped their losing streak in 2024 on Friday (Jan 5) amid mixed trading in the region.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.3 per cent or 10.29 points to 3,184.3, closing higher for the first time this year after three days of declines. However, the index was still down 1.7 per cent for the week, snapping a four-week winning streak.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding led the index gainers on Friday, rising 2.7 per cent or S$0.04 to close at S$1.55.

Other top performers included Venture Corp and Sembcorp Industries , which rose 1.2 per cent and 1.1 per cent respectively.

The local banks were also among the gainers, with OCBC , DBS and UOB rising between 0.5 and 0.9 per cent.

Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 288 to 250, after 1.2 billion securities worth S$836.3 million were traded.

Singtel was the most active counter by value on Friday, with some 44.5 million shares worth S$104.9 million changing hands. The counter fell 1.3 per cent or S$0.03 to close at S$2.35, ending at the bottom of the STI performance table.

Elsewhere in the region, key indices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, South Korea and Australia ended in the red. However, the Nikkei 225 in Japan and the KLCI in Malaysia closed higher, rising 0.3 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively.

This followed a mixed performance on Wall Street on Thursday, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended flat, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both closed lower.

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Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, noted that the US jobs report for December holds the potential to influence market sentiment.

The report is scheduled to be released later on Friday.

A too-strong report could be a setback for stocks, aligning with expectations of rate cuts in the second half of 2024, he said. “Conversely, if the report aligns with or falls slightly short of expectations, it may reinforce beliefs in an imminent rate cut, potentially sparking a rally.”