STI slips 0.09% to 2,846.52 points, in line with Asia-Pacific key bourses

THE Straits Times Index (STI) slid 0.09 per cent or 2.46 points on Monday to 2,846.52 points, in tandem with most of Asia-Pacific key equity benchmarks, on the back of concerns over a resurgence in the novel coronavirus cases.

These gauges slipped in spite of a tentative agreement reached overnight on a fresh US$900 billion relief package in the United States.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was 0.72 per cent lower at 26,306.68 while the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index dropped 0.28 per cent to 1,647.89 points.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Index declined 0.18 per cent to 26,714.42, as investors weighed rising coronavirus infections against new relief packages in Japan and the United States. The same concerns weighed on Australia's S&P/ASX 200, which slipped 0.08 per cent to 6,669.89, amid rising coronavirus cases in Sydney that might trigger stricter movement restrictions.

The bright spots were the Shanghai Composite Index - having registered a 0.76 per cent gain to 3,420.57 points - and South Korea's Kospi Index was up 0.23 per cent to 2,778.65, boosted by strong performance from its biopharmaceutical stocks.

In Singapore, Wilmar International had in the past week paid S$6.8 million to repurchase 1.62 million of its own shares in the agribusiness group, continuing its buyback spree that started in November. The mainboard-listed stock rose by four Singapore cents or 0.92 per cent to S$4.40.

Tianjin Zhong Xin, which had its trading halt lifted on Monday morning, declined US$0.175 or 16.1 per cent to US$0.915, following its Sunday announcement that 67 per cent stake in its controlling shareholder Tianjin Pharmaceutical Holdings will be acquired by another company for an undisclosed sum.

The most heavily traded counter was the watch-listed seafood and fast-moving consumer goods value chain manager Oceanus Group, with 108.9 million shares changed hands. The stock ended trading at 2.6 Singapore cents, up 0.1 cent or 4 per cent.

Decliners outnumbered gainers 269 to 174, with 1.34 billion securities worth S$1.14 billion traded.