Singapore stocks end lower on news of Biden’s exit from US polls; STI down 0.3%
CEO of financial adviser expects market volatility to persist amid the new state of play in the election
SINGAPORE stocks ended lower on Monday (Jul 22), after US President Joe Biden announced overnight that he would be ending his re-election campaign, and endorsed Vice-President Kamala Harris for the role.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.3 per cent or 10.3 points to 3,437.26. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 290 to 277, with 1.1 billion securities worth S$924.1 million having changed hands.
Regional markets traded mixed. The Nikkei 225 lost 1.2 per cent, the Kospi Composite Index was down 1.1 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI fell 0.9 per cent, but the Hang Seng Index rose 1.3 per cent.
As Harris steps into the spotlight, markets are set to experience heightened uncertainty, said Nigel Green, chief executive of financial adviser and asset manager deVere Group.
He expects that investors are primarily concerned about whether to continue betting on the “Trump Trade”, which refers to market behaviours and trends that emerged during his presidency, driven by looser fiscal policies, deregulation, higher tariffs and infrastructure spending.
Green said: “If Harris can gain significant traction and pose a credible threat to Trump’s lead in the polls, market volatility is expected to persist.”
On the STI, Singtel was the biggest gainer, rising 1 per cent or S$0.03 to S$3.05.
DFI Retail Group was the biggest decliner, falling 3.3 per cent or US$0.06 to US$1.78.
The local banking trio experienced mixed trading. DBS fell 1.3 per cent or S$0.49 to S$36.20, UOB lost 0.2 per cent or S$0.06 to S$32.57, while OCBC was up 0.5 per cent or S$0.08 to S$15.05.
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