Singapore stocks dip on Thursday amid cautious trading; STI down 0.2%

Yong Jun Yuan

Published Thu, Dec 2, 2021 · 05:57 PM

LOCAL sentiment remained weak as investors remained wary about the impact of Omicron, the new Covid-19 variant.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) lost 0.2 per cent or 6.14 points to cap off Thursday at 3,092.11.

Across the broader market, decliners beat advancers 296 to 181, after some 1.16 billion securities worth S$1.3 billion changed hands.

Asian markets were mixed on Thursday. South Korea's Kospi rose 1.6 per cent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.6 per cent and Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index rose 1.2 per cent. Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur Composite Index closed up 0.3 per cent while Japan's Nikkei 225 declined by 0.7 per cent.

Singapore Exchange (SGX) market strategist Geoff Howie noted that the commodity-related, banks and semiconductors sectors continued to top the global leaderboard in the first two sessions of December, as it has been for much of this year.

"The focus on Omicron also remained evident with Top Glove BVA, Medtecs International 546 and UG Healthcare 8K7 ga : 8K7 0%ining an average of 1.9 per cent," he said.

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Over on the STI, SGX S68 : S68 0%was the top performer on Thursday, climbing 0.7 per cent or S$0.06 to close at S$9.07.

The biggest decliner of the day was Frasers Logistics and Commercial Trust BUOU : BUOU 0%which closed down 2 per cent or S$0.03 to close at S$1.45.

Sembcorp Industries U96 : U96 0%was also up 0.5 per cent or S$0.01 at S$1.94. The company announced on Thursday that it had acquired a 35 per cent stake in a Chinese renewable energy company with a portfolio of 30 wind and solar photovoltaic assets for 1.5 billion yuan (S$320 million).

The trio of banks were up on Thursday. DBS D05 was up 0.5 per cent or S$0.17 to close at S$31.55 while UOB U11 rose 0.3 per cent or S$0.07 to close at S$26.20 and OCBC O39 cl : O39 0%imbed 0.3 per cent or S$0.03 to close at S$11.30.