Singapore stocks end week in the red; STI down 0.1%

SINGAPORE shares ended the week in negative territory, marking the third consecutive day of declines. The local stock market saw a directionless trading session, as the US market's closure due to Thanksgiving gave investors little in terms of news and updates.

The benchmark Straits Times Index fell 0.1 per cent or 1.66 points to 2,855.82 on Friday. Advancers outnumbered decliners 240 to 187, after 1.67 billion securities worth S$1.08 billion changed hands.

Investor sentiment took a hit from a 9.5 per cent year-on-year decline in receipts in the third quarter of 2020, although receipts improved on a quarterly basis compared to Q2 - the Republic's "circuit-breaker" period.

All industries except information and communications services registered lower business receipts on a year-on-year basis, said the Singapore Department of Statistics (SingStat).

Among the 30 constituent stocks, Sembcorp Industries emerged the top advancer, adding 2.2 per cent or four Singapore cents to end the day at S$1.88.

On the other end of the spectrum, supermarket and convenience store operator Dairy Farm was the biggest loser. The counter fell 3.5 per cent or US$0.15 to end the day at US$4.09.

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Other decliners included members of the Jardine Group of companies. Jardine Matheson Holdings closed 2 per cent or US$1.09 lower at US$52.90, while Jardine Strategic Holdings Holdings lost 3.2 per cent or US$0.80 to US$23.90.

The trio of lenders ended the day mixed, with DBS and OCBC finishing the day in the black. The former gained 0.7 per cent or S$0.18 to S$25.68, while the latter closed at S$10.15, up 0.8 per cent or eight Singapore cents. UOB, however, lost 0.04 per cent or one Singapore cent to finish at S$23.06.

Among the constituent counters, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding was the most heavily traded, with some 39.3 million shares changing hands over the course of the day. The stock closed 1.1 per cent or one Singapore cent lower at S$0.92.

Across the region, markets finished the week mostly in the black. The Nikkei 225 closed 0.4 per cent higher, while the Hang Seng Index added 0.3 per cent. The Jakarta Composite Index and SSE Composite Index gained 0.4 per cent and 1.1 per cent respectively. Only the KLCI bucked the trend, closing 0.3 per cent lower on Friday.