Singapore stocks: STI resumes Friday afternoon at 3,312.39, down 0.1% on day

SINGAPORE stocks resumed trading in negative territory on Friday, with the Straits Times Index slipping 2.12 points, or 0.1 per cent to 3,312.39 as at 1.04pm.

Advancers outnumbered decliners 156 to 146, after about 599.3 million securities worth S$501.5 million changed hands.

Among the most heavily traded by volume, KrisEnergy gained 11.4 per cent or 0.4 Singapore cent to 3.9 Singapore cents, with 20.8 million shares traded; while Golden Agri-Resources was flat at 28.5 Singapore cents with 15.2 million shares traded.

Banking stocks traded mixed, with DBS retreating 0.4 per cent or 10 Singapore cents to S$25.72, UOB gaining 0.3 per cent or nine cents to S$26.31, while OCBC added 0.5 per cent or five cents to S$11.29.

Other active stocks included CapitaLand Commercial Trust which lost 1.9 per cent or four Singapore cents to S$2.12, and YZJ Shipbuilding which gained 0.7 per cent or one cent to S$1.50.

Phillip Futures investment analyst Samuel Siew noted that global indices futures generally posted marginal losses this morning, as it gave back some of its gains from the nights before.

"Despite US indices seeing a record high last night, as markets bask in the euphoria from global central banks indicating a potential shift toward easier monetary policy, we remain cautious, as there is still plenty of risk imminent, which could throw markets off course... Therefore, while markets could still be supported over the next few days, risk adversity may eventually build up closer to the G-20 summit (June 28-29)."

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Topix gave up 1 per cent, and South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.3 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index also fell 0.3 per cent, while Shanghai's Composite Index bucked the trend across most Asian markets to post a 0.6 per cent gain.

In the commodities space, gold prices broke US$1,400 an ounce to hit a near-six-year high, as a weaker greenback, economic concerns, and geopolitical tensions drove investors towards the safe-haven asset.

Meanwhile, oil prices pared earlier gains on Friday amid rising US-Iran tensions. Brent crude was down 10 US cents, or 0.2 per cent, at US$64.35 a barrel by the afternoon trade, while US West Texas Intermediate crude declined 20 US cents, or 0.4 per cent, to US$56.87 a barrel. The US benchmark surged 5.4 per cent on Thursday and is on track for a more than 8 per cent increase this week, data from Reuters show.

As at 2.15pm on Friday, several O&G plays on the Singapore bourse also ticked higher for the day.

Rex International was up 1.4 per cent or 0.1 Singapore cent to 7.2 cents, KrisEnergy gained 14.3 per cent or 0.5 cent to four cents, AusGroup added 3.7 per cent or 0.1 cent to 2.8 cents and China Aviation Oil edged up 0.8 per cent or one cent to S$1.34.