Singapore stocks end winning streak on Thursday; STI down 0.2%
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Uma Devi
LOCAL shares stumbled on Thursday (Mar 30), ending the Straits Times Index’s (STI) solid run – with three consecutive days of advances – so far this week.
The STI on Thursday fell 0.2 per cent or 5.36 points to close at 3,257.18. Gainers outpaced losers 308 to 255, after some 2.2 billion securities worth a total of S$1.4 billion changed hands.
SPI Asset Management’s managing partner Stephen Innes said in a note on Thursday that volatility in recent weeks has diminished.
“The good news for stocks is that growth concerns have moved into the driver’s seat after the recent banking shock, where investors are now positioning for the (Federal Reserve) to cut and instead rely on credit tightening to tame inflation,” he said.
Innes added that for now, it’s a return to “data watching” as stock market operators prepare for the Q1 earnings season.
Jardine Cycle & Carriage was the biggest gainer on the local bourse, adding 2.2 per cent or S$0.67 to S$30.66.
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Another top gainer was Global Palm Resources , which jumped 89.9 per cent or S$0.116 to S$0.245. On Wednesday, the company’s chief executive Suparno Adijanto, along with six family members, launched an offer to take the palm oil producer private at S$0.25 per share.
The offer price of 25 cents per share represents a premium of 93.8 per cent over 12.9 cents, which was the counter’s last traded price on Tuesday before the company called for a trading halt.
The trio of lenders were among the decliners on Thursday. OCBC saw the biggest fall – sliding 1.1 per cent or S$0.14 to S$12.39. UOB lost 0.4 per cent or S$0.11 to S$29.84, while DBS shed 0.3 per cent or S$0.09 to S$33.50. All three stocks were trading on a cum-dividend basis.
Sembcorp Marine was the most actively traded stock on Thursday, with about 910.2 million shares changing hands. The counter closed flat at S$0.115.
Other heavily traded counters include Rex International , The Place Holdings and Genting Singapore .
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