Singapore stocks fall for second consecutive day despite upbeat NODX figures

LOCAL shares fell for the second day in a row despite some positive news on the macroeconomic front. Singapore booked a non-oil domestic exports (NODX) growth of 12.7 per cent in July, beating economists' expectations of 12 per cent in a Bloomberg poll.

Coronavirus fears, however, continued to linger among investors. The Straits Times Index slipped 0.9 per cent or 27.01 points to close on Tuesday at 3,118.51. Losers well outpaced gainers 369 to 146, after 1.56 billion securities worth S$1.37 billion changed hands.

Despite the decline thus far this week, IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong argued that the longer-term outlook for the Singapore market remains intact.

"With 75 per cent of its population being fully vaccinated, the overall economic landscape for Singapore seems positive, with gradual reopening towards the rest of the year driving demand in the services sector, which has been lagging in terms of recovery," he said.

Of the 30 constituent stocks, only two ended the day in the black. S58 came out tops, rising 0.5 per cent or S$0.02 to S$4.02, while A17U gained 0.3 per cent or S$0.01 to S$3.09.

Across the broader market, tech names were among the biggest losers for the day. AIY was the top decliner, shedding 6.2 per cent or S$0.54 to S$8.22.

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MZH extended its decline, falling a further 10.1 per cent or S$0.43 to S$3.82. V03 was another decliner, closing 1.7 per cent or S$0.33 lower at S$19.14.

Banks were also among the biggest losers for the day. U11 lost 1.1 per cent or S$0.28 to S$26.01; D05 fell 0.7 per cent or S$0.20 to S$30.47, while O39 slipped 0.9 per cent or S$0.11 to S$11.78.

A31 was the most heavily traded stock on Tuesday, and the counter's price took a hit after some 96.8 million shares changed hands. The stock ended the day at 0.9 Singapore cent, down 30.8 per cent or 0.4 cent.

Other heavily traded counters included BS6, S51 and 579 .

Elsewhere in Asia, markets mostly ended the day lower. The Nikkei fell 0.4 per cent; the Hang Seng lost 1.7 per cent, and the Kospi shed 0.9 per cent. The KLCI, however, ended the day higher.