STI up 0.59% as Omicron concerns ease

SINGAPORE equities rose on Tuesday (Dec 7) in a largely positive session for markets in Asia as concerns over the Omicron coronavirus variant subsided.

The Straits Times Index (STI) *STI : *STI 0% ended 18.34 points or 0.59 per cent higher at 3,134.66.

Said IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong: "While markets continue to await scientific updates on the Omicron variant, news-driven expectations are that it will be more transmissible but less severe, and existing vaccines may work on the variant to some degree."

The ability of hospitals in South Africa to cope with the surge in Covid-19 cases has fuelled some optimism among the dip buyers, signalling that the previous sell-off for reopening sectors "may have been overdone", noted Yeap.

Across the Singapore market, advancers outpaced decliners 324 to 159 with some 1.26 billion shares worth S$1.13 billion changing hands.

Travel-related counters on the blue-chip index fared well with Singapore Airlines (SIA) C6L and Sats S58 : S58 0% emerging among the top performers.

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SIA gained 2.3 per cent or S$0.11 to S$4.99 while Sats was up 1.3 per cent or S$0.05 to S$3.94.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding BS6 : BS6 0% was also a top gainer with shares up 2.3 per cent or S$0.03 to S$1.32.

Jardine Matheson Holdings and ComfortDelGro were the only 2 of the 30 STI constituents that ended the day in the red.

Jardine Matheson Holdings J36 slipped 1.8 per cent or US$1 to US$54.62 while ComfortDelGro C52 : C52 0% shed 0.7 per cent or S$0.01 to S$1.41.

Thai Beverage Y92 : Y92 0% was the most active counter on the STI with about 27.5 million shares changing hands. It ended the day 1.5 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$0.675.

Elsewhere in the region, sentiment too was buoyed by Wall Street rallies and optimism that the Omicron variant is less severe than anticipated.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index led gains in the region and ended the day 2.72 per cent higher.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 1.89 per cent; South Korea's Kospi gained 0.62 per cent; Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur Composite Index rose 0.98 per cent while Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index was up 0.85 per cent.