Singapore shares post mild recovery after Budget relief measures; STI up 0.1% at open

SINGAPORE stocks opened slightly stronger in the first few minutes of trade on Wednesday, reversing their losses from the previous day.

The gains on the Singapore bourse come a day after Singapore's Budget 2020 set aside S$5.6 billion to help firms, workers and households amid the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. The latest Budget also retains a focus on the future, from economic transformation to climate change.

The benchmark Straits Times Index rose 0.1 per cent or 3.17 points to 3,199.8 as at 9.06am on Wednesday.

Gainers outnumbered losers 99 to 31, or about three counters up for every one down, after 90 million securities worth S$64.2 million changed hands.

Among the most heavily traded by volume were ESR-Reit which was flat S$0.53 on 1.6 million units traded, and AEM Holdings which increased by S$0.05 or 2.3 per cent to S$2.22 after one million shares changed hands, as at 9.02am.

The trio of banks remained in the red. DBS fell S$0.02 or 0.1 per cent to S$25.25, OCBC Bank shed S$0.04 or 0.4 per cent to S$10.93, while UOB was down S$0.07 or 0.3 per cent to S$25.74, as at 9.02am on Wednesday. All three lenders had finished lower at Tuesday's close.

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Singtel was unchanged at S$3.17 on Wednesday morning. Singapore's largest telco had slipped 1.3 per cent to close at that level the day before. Its shares have lost 6 per cent since it reported Q3 earnings last Thursday.

Aviation-focused plays also saw some recovery in the early trading session, after Budget 2020 introduced additional support measures - such as property tax rebates and rental waivers - for sectors including aviation that have been hit hard by the Covid-19 outbreak.

Singapore Airlines moved up S$0.03 or 0.4 per cent to S$8.54, while SATS rose S$0.03 or 0.7 per cent to S$4.51.

Meanwhile, Great Eastern gained S$0.16 or 0.7 per cent to S$21.98. The insurance arm of OCBC Bank, posted a fourth-quarter net profit of S$287 million, more than double the S$136.9 million a year ago, on Wednesday morning before the market opened.

In the US, worries over the novel coronavirus outbreak's impact on Apple sent Wall Street to a lower close on Tuesday. The tech giant said it will miss its March quarter revenue forecast while global iPhone supplies will fall, and Apple's share price fell 1.8 per cent to US$319.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened higher on Wednesday, as investors adjusted their positions amid lingering fears over Covid-19's economic impact.