STI finishes 0.03% higher in 'lacklustre' trading session

SINGAPORE'S benchmark Straits Times Index climbed 0.78 point or 0.03 per cent to 2,859.68 on Tuesday, on what some market commentators called a "lacklustre" trading day.

Some 1.49 billion securities worth S$1.26 billion changed hands, with losers outnumbering gainers 247 to 206.

IG senior market strategist Pan Jingyi said that despite the better-than-expected Singapore Q4 GDP reading released on Monday, investors are likely still hunting for further signs of pickup in economic activity through Singapore's better repositioning under the pandemic reality and the resumption of cross-border activities for its external-dependent economy.

Property landlord and developer Hongkong Land was the top performer on the index, gaining US$0.15 or 3.65 per cent to US$4.26, after JPMorgan raised the stock to "overweight" from "neutral", with a target price of US$5.30.

For the second day straight, City Developments was the worst performer of the index, shedding a further S$0.14 or 1.8 per cent to S$7.66. This comes on the back of the repeated departures of board directors, which has cast doubt on the firm's investment in Chinese real estate group Sincere Property Group, which is also undergoing review by Deloitte & Touche Financial Advisory Services.

For the second consecutive day, the most active counter of the day was Sembcorp Marine. It lost S$0.003 or 1.96 per cent to S$0.15, on a volume of 120.3 million. No married deals were recorded.

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Regional indices finished mixed. The Hang Seng Index gained 0.64 per cent, the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.73 per cent, Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 0.37 per cent, while Malaysia's KLCI gained 0.36 per cent.