ST Index up 8 points following firm overnight gains in NY
Investor sentiment in US surges on passing of coronavirus stimulus bill; Asian markets close mixed. BY UMA DEVI
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THE Singapore stock market felt positive knock-on effects as investor sentiment in the United States rose after a coronavirus stimulus bill was passed, which pushed all three Wall Street indices to record highs on Monday.
Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.7 per cent, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.9 per cent.
On the local bourse, the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.3 per cent or eight points to finish the day at 2,848.14. On the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 265 to 175, after 1.56 billion securities worth some S$630 million changed hands.
Said Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley: "The buy everything recovery trade was back in evidence in Asia, with the US dollar easing, and precious metals and energy rallying."
Jardine Strategic Holdings and Jardine Matheson Holdings were the top advancers for the day. The former gained 2.5 per cent or US$0.61 to US$25.41, while the latter added 0.6 per cent or US$0.35 to finish the day at US$55.70.
On the other end of the spectrum, ABR Holdings - which owns a number of food and beverage brands - was the top decliner. The stock tumbled 19.1 per cent or S$0.13 to S$0.55.
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Glove makers were also among the biggest decliners for the second consecutive day. Top Glove fell 3.9 per cent or S$0.08 to S$1.99, Riverstone shed 1.8 per cent or S$0.02 to S$1.09, while UG Healthcare fell 3.4 per cent or S$0.02 to 57.5 Singapore cents.
Oanda's Mr Halley noted that glove makers had led declines on the Kuala Lumpur stock market earlier in the day as well. "It may well be that investors are starting to look at a post-vaccine future and are lightening up on a sector that was a clear Covid-19 winner," he noted.
Elsewhere in the region, stock markets ended the day mixed. The Nikkei 225 added 2.7 per cent, the Hang Seng Index gained 1 per cent and the Jakarta Composite Index rose 0.2 per cent. On the other hand, the KLCI lost 0.6 per cent, while the SSE Composite Index fell 0.5 per cent.
For full listings of SGX prices, go to https://www2.sgx.com/
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