Singapore stocks end first trading day of Q4 in red; STI down 0.3%

SINGAPORE shares slipped on Monday (Oct 2), ending the first trading day of the fourth quarter in the red. 

The Straits Times Index (STI) retreated 0.3 per cent or 8.55 points to 3,208.86. Across the broader market, decliners outnumbered advancers 200 to 184, with 950.5 million securities worth S$782.9 million changing hands. 

On the STI, the top gainer was Sembcorp Industries , which rose 1.6 per cent or S$0.08 to S$5.17. The energy and urban development player’s subsidiary Sembcorp Power on Monday inked power purchase agreements with ST Telemedia Global Data Centres to power the latter’s Singapore data centres. 

Also up today was Singtel , which climbed 0.8 per cent or S$0.02 to S$2.44. The telco’s subsidiary in the US has agreed to sell its stake in its Chicago-based cybersecurity arm, Trustwave, for an enterprise value of US$205 million. 

The biggest decliner on the index was Mapletree Logistics Trust , which fell 3 per cent or S$0.05 to S$1.63. 

Local banking stocks all closed lower. DBS shed 0.2 per cent or S$0.05 to S$33.59, UOB slipped 0.6 per cent or S$0.16 to S$28.34, while OCBC dipped 0.1 per cent or S$0.01 to S$12.80. 

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Regional indices were mostly a sea of red on Monday. Malaysia’s FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down 0.4 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.3 per cent lower, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.2 per cent. 

Both Hong Kong and South Korea’s stock exchanges took a break for holidays. China’s markets are also closed for the week due to the Golden Week holiday. 

Saxo market strategist Charu Chanana noted that China’s ​​purchasing managers’ indices (PMIs) were in expansion territory for September, which signalled “preliminary signs of a bottoming out in the economy”.

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“Manufacturing PMI came in at 50.2 vs 49.7 in August, while non-manufacturing was at 51.7 vs 51.0 in August,” she said. 

“However, expansion in Caixin PMIs moderated with manufacturing at 50.6 from 51 in August and services at 50.2 from 51.8, suggesting that private businesses and exporters still remain under heavy pressure.”