Singapore stocks slip amid mixed trading in Asia; STI dips 0.1%

THE Straits Times Index (STI) lost 3.97 points or 0.1 per cent to close at 3,117.79 points on Tuesday (Jul 19), with mixed trading in Asia amid a Wall Street wobble.

In the wider Singapore market, losers outnumbered gainers 284 to 182, with 735 million shares worth S$757.8 million changing hands.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index ended up 0.7 per cent and the Jakarta Composite Index jumped 1.2 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index shed 0.9 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.2 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dipped 0.1 per cent.

According to IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong, uncertainty in US trading – with all 3 major US indices eventually closing in the red on Monday – contributed to the mixed performance in Asia.

“Both top and bottom-line outperformance from Goldman Sachs and Bank of America aided to underpin an initial rally, but warnings of a hiring slowdown from Apple quickly grabbed market’s attention and brought back some caution of a further economic downturn,” Yeap said.

The biggest winner among Singapore’s blue-chip stocks was Sembcorp Industries, after the group on Tuesday said in a bourse filing that its financial results are expected to be materially higher for the first half of 2022, buoyed by continued high electricity prices in Singapore and India. The counter closed 4.1 per cent or S$0.12 higher at S$3.05.

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Jardine Matheson Holdings (JMH) was also among the top gainers, rising 2.7 per cent or US$1.39 to close at US$53.54.

At the bottom of the table for the second consecutive day was Genting Singapore, which lost 2.5 per cent or S$0.02 to end at S$0.77. The counter was also the most heavily traded among the index constituents, with 24.3 million shares changing hands.

The trio of local banks were mixed. DBS finished marginally lower – down 0.03 per cent or S$0.01 – at S$29.95, and OCBC lost 0.2 per cent or S$0.02 to close at S$11.32, while UOB edged up 0.2 per cent or S$0.05 to S$26.46.