Singapore stocks sink into the red; STI down 0.35%

SINGAPORE stocks slid over the course of the trading day after opening in positive territory, with the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) closing down 0.35 per cent or 10.79 points at 3,095.22.

Among the STI constituents, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding emerged top of the table, gaining 2.56 per cent or S$0.03 to close at S$1.20. Coming in second was Mapletree Industrial Trust, which gained 1.17 per cent or S$0.03 to end at S$2.59.

On the other hand, Thai Beverage reversed its gains made on Thursday and slumped to the bottom of the index, falling 3.95 per cent or S$0.03 to end at S$0.73.

Aviation counters Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Sats also ended the week in negative territory. SIA slipped 0.38 per cent to end at S$5.30, while Sats closed down 0.23 per cent at S$4.37.

Transport minister Ong Ye Kung said in an interview with Money FM 89.3 on Friday that bilateral travel corridors for vaccinated passengers from places with low to moderate infection rates may well happen in the second half of this year.

Advancers outnumbered decliners 245 to 237 for the day, with 2.68 billion securities worth S$1.51 billion changing hands.

Across the region, Asian markets ended the day mixed, as some key indices continued to be buoyed by the passing of US President Joe Biden's US$1.9 trillion stimulus bill.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Index rose 1.73 per cent, or 506.19 points, to 29,717.83. South Korean shares also posted their biggest weekly jump in five weeks, with the benchmark Kospi closing up 1.35 per cent or 40.69 points at 3,054.39.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 2.20 per cent or 645.89 points to end at 28,739.72. Market heavyweight Tencent's share price tumbled after it was hit by an anti-monopoly fine by China which fuelled fears that authorities had the tech giant in its sights - joining fellow behemoth Alibaba.

Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst for Asia-Pacific at Oanda, said on Friday that the "buy-everything animal spirits refused to be caged any longer overnight as financial markets returned the inflation genie to its bottle".

But he noted that the global markets have yet to reach "peak inflation sentiment", adding that Mr Biden's stimulus will be positive for American and Asian markets in the short term.

"Its effects, and those of the general recovery, will start to accelerate in the March data everywhere . . . The inflation genie may have been put back into its bottle for the weekend, but someone is sure to pick it up and uncork it again soon," said Mr Halley.