Singapore shares end week in the black, STI up 0.5%

LOCAL stocks ended a choppy week on a more optimistic note, as news of vaccinated travel lanes and updates on the state's vaccination figures lifted investor optimism.

It was announced on Thursday that Singapore will launch travel lanes with Germany and Brunei, doing away with serving a stay-home notice period. Singapore will also unilaterally open its borders to travellers from Hong Kong and Macau with immediate effect.

The Straits Times Index advanced 0.5 per cent or 15.78 points to end Friday at 3,102.75. Across the broader market, decliners inched past advancers 257 to 229 as 1.36 billion securities worth S$1.07 billion changed hands.

Vishnu Varathan, head of economics and strategy at Mizuho Bank, cautioned that the broader recovery for the region is likely to extend into 2022. A "phased resumption of global travel" means weaknesses in the travel and tourism industry are likely to persist, while economies with high tourism multipliers may be exposed to protracted under-performance, he said.

Unsurprisingly, aviation-related counters were among the top gainers on the Singapore bourse. Singapore Airlines C6L added 1.4 per cent or S$0.07 to S$5.03, while Sats S58 rose 3 per cent or S$0.12 to S$4.14.

Jardine Matheson Holdings J36 was the biggest advancer, rising 1.1 per cent or US$0.59 to US$56.00.

Two of three local lenders were also some of the top gainers. DBS D05 added 0.8 per cent or S$0.24 to S$30.16, and UOB U11 added 0.7 per cent or S$0.18 to S$25.86.

Real estate agency PropNex OYY was among the biggest losers on Friday. The counter ended the day at S$1.80, down 4.3 per cent or S$0.08.

Sembcorp Marine S51 was the most heavily traded counter on Friday, with some 94.7 million shares changing hands over the course of the day.

The deadline for shareholders of the company to lodge their proxy forms for voting on the company's recently proposed rights issue to raise S$1.5 billion was on Friday, and the extraordinary general meeting will be held on Aug 23 at 2pm. Shares of Sembmarine closed at 10.3 Singapore cents, down 3.7 per cent or 0.4 cent.

Other heavily traded stocks included GSS Energy, Singtel and Golden Agri-Resources.

Elsewhere in the region, markets ended the day mixed. The Nikkei 225 fell 1 per cent, the Hang Seng Index slipped 1.8 per cent, and the Kospi lost 1.2 per cent. The KLCI inched up 0.2 per cent, and the Jakarta Composite Index advanced 0.6 per cent.