Majority STI constituents in the red; index down 0.44% over the week

SINGAPORE shares declined after a few days of registering gains, with the market barometer Straits Times Index (STI) closing 0.85 per cent or 25.62 points down to 2,991.53 on Friday.

The index dipped by about 0.44 per cent over the week.

Of the STI constituents, only four - the three Jardine companies and Venture Corp - managed to notch gains. Three STI constituents Ascendas real estate investment trust, Genting Singapore and Mapletree Logistics Trust ended flat, while the remaining 23 in the red.

Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at Oanda, said rising property prices in Singapore have fuelled speculation that authorities will impose new price control measures to limit increases. That could weigh on Singapore equities over the next few days, given that most of the STI stocks are banks and property companies.

Decliners outnumbered advancers on the broader market at 269 to 229, with 2.93 billion securities worth S$1.53 billion changing hands.

The biggest STI decliner was property developer City Developments, which has been plagued by its Chinese investment woes. The counter lost 2.21 per cent to wrap up trading at S$7.51.

Isetan's (Singapore) shares registered a 9.38 per cent gain to S$3.50 when it requested a trading halt at about 3.20pm. The Japanese retailer stated, in a regulatory filing issued shortly after the market closed, that it is exploring options regarding its investment property at Wisma Atria, and may appoint property agents and valuers to assist it or start exploratory discussions on the matter.

Dimethylformamide producer Jiutian Chemical was the most active counter, as it beat Oceanus Group in the last trading hour with 235 million shares traded and its price up 3.7 per cent to 11.2 Singapore cents.

Regionally, most markets declined. The bickering between the Senate leaders in the United States has sent US index futures sharply lower, driving investors in Asia to the sidelines, Mr Halley noted.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 1.60 per cent to 29,447.85 points, along with the Shanghai Composite Index that was 0.40 per cent lower at 3,606.75 points.

Japan's Nikkei 225 declined 0.44 per cent to 28,631.45, while South Korea's Kospi dipped 0.64 per cent to 3,140.63 points.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost about 0.34 per cent to 6,800.37, but the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index inched up 0.12 per cent to 1,596.74 points.

KEYWORDS IN THIS ARTICLE

BT is now on Telegram!

For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes