Singapore stocks extend losses on Tuesday, STI down 0.23%

SINGAPORE stocks ended in the red on Tuesday, with the Straits Times Index down 6.73 points or 0.23 per cent at 2,977.17, following a choppy and directionless trading session.

This follows Wall Street's decline. US stocks fell on Monday for the first time in five sessions. OCBC Investment Research, in a market commentary on Tuesday, said: "Weighing on the minds of investors are worries that equities are running too hot and valuations are stretched at a time when major parts of the world are grappling with the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic."

Among the STI constituents, Thai Beverage emerged as top performer for the day, climbing S$0.025 or 3.25 per cent to close at S$0.795.

Coming in second was CapitaLand, which gained S$0.07 or 2.04 per cent to close at S$3.50. CapitaLand's The Ascott said it has built a four-year straight streak of record growth in property units in 2020, as it boosts recurring fee income through management and franchise contracts.

Meanwhile, Singtel came in at the bottom of the index, closing down S$0.05 or two per cent at S$2.45.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) was also among the counters that ended lower on Tuesday, slipping S$0.06 or 1.40 per cent to end at S$4.24.

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According to a document seen by Reuters, a term sheet for SIA's first US-dollar bond has been circulated by book runners for the potential issues, and calls were being held with prospective investors on Monday.

In a note on Tuesday, DBS Group Research said that while recovery is intact, it expects some hesitance heading into the Q4 results season.

For instance, resistance towards travel may not bode well for stocks such as Singapore Airlines. Hospitality stocks with assets in countries seeing a resurgence in Covid-19 cases may also face some hesitance.

On the broader market, advancers outnumbered decliners 274 to 210 for the day, with 2.10 billion securities worth S$1.44 billion changing hands.

Across the region, Asian markets ended the day mixed.

The Shanghai Composite Index gained 76.84 points or 2.18 per cent to end the day at 3,608.34, while the Nikkei 225 Index edged up 25.31 points or 0.09 per cent to close at 28,164.34. The benchmark Kospi slid 22.50 points or 0.71 per cent to close at 3,125.95.

Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at Oanda, said that "large fast-money flows" were very much in evidence in China and South Korea on Tuesday, adding that "the positive outlook for South Korea has not suddenly changed; it has just (gotten) noisier".