Singapore stocks rise on Tuesday amid mixed trading in the region; STI up 0.3%

SINGAPORE stocks rose on Tuesday amid mixed trading across the region, following an overnight retreat on Wall Street. The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) climbed 0.3 per cent or 9.49 points to close at 2,890.70 on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.2 per cent, while the Kospi in South Korea closed 0.3 per cent lower. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index gained one per cent, and Australia's ASX 200 rose 0.9 per cent. Markets in Japan were closed on Tuesday for a holiday.

Overnight on Wall Street, major indices largely retreated, with tech stocks taking the biggest hit amid concerns that borrowing rates will creep higher. The S&P 500 slipped 0.8 per cent, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite fell 2.5 per cent on Monday.

Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at Axi, said in a note: "Investors are quickly rediscovering that not all stocks are created equal in a Covid recovery, as expensive tech names (are sold) to provide funds for less-expensive travel-related markers, along with energy and other inflation beneficiaries."

On the local bourse, Singapore Airlines emerged the top STI performer on Tuesday, surging 5.9 per cent or S$0.26 to close at S$4.65, its highest since March 2020. The flag carrier's shares were the most actively traded by value, with over 32 million shares worth S$146 million changing hands.

Fellow aviation-related counter SATS was also among the top three gainers on the index, rising 4.9 per cent or S$0.20 to close at S$4.31.

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In terms of volume, Thomson Medical Group was the most active counter, with over 246 million shares worth around S$27.3 million changing hands. It gained 0.9 per cent or 0.1 Singapore cent to close at 11.1 cents. The counter has more than doubled since Feb 8, when it reported a net profit for its first half, reversing a loss in the year-ago period.

At the bottom of the performance table for the STI on Tuesday was Wilmar International, which fell 2.2 per cent or S$0.12 to S$5.39. The agribusiness group on Monday proposed a special dividend of 6.5 Singapore cents and a final dividend of nine cents per share for its second half.

Overall trading volume in the Singapore market stood at 2.95 billion shares worth S$1.55 billion on Tuesday, with gainers outnumbering decliners 236 to 225.