singapores sti index closes flat after a late sell off 889682015

Singapore’s Straits Times Index closed nearly flat on Thursday after the market gave up most of the opening gains in a sudden decline that commenced shortly before 3:30 PM. Given that the mid cap and small cap indices also ended in negative territory, and the overall market displayed negative breadth, the broad market clearly suffered from bearish sentiment, even though interest ran high in penny stocks.

Indices and sectors

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 2.8 points or 0.08 per cent lower at 3,356.37, taking the year-to-date performance to -0.26 per cent.

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index declined 0.07 per cent, while the FTSE ST Small Cap Index declined 0.18 per cent.

The Singapore Exchange traded a volume of 2,318.8 million shares valued at SG$1,033.1 million. Losers outnumbered gainers by 245/204.

Amongst the FTSE ST sectors, the top gainers included technology (+3.90 per cent), basic materials (+0.91 per cent), telecommunications (+0.46 per cent) and consumer services (+0.34 per cent). The losing sectors included healthcare (-1.73 per cent), real estate holding and development (-1.43 per cent), China (-1.28 per cent), China top index (-0.87 per cent) and real estate (-0.74 per cent).

Stocks

Keppel Corporation Limited (SGX:BN4) said net profit for the three months to June 30 dropped 2.3 per cent to SG$396.7 million compared to the prior year period, while revenue slumped 19.3 per cent to SG$2.56 billion, on the back of weakness in the offshore and marine divisions, reported the Straits Times. The company proposed an interim cash dividend of 12 Singapore cents per share, the same as last year, to be paid on August 13.

Oil and gas firm NauticAWT (SGX:42D) commenced trading on the Catalist board of the Singapore exchange on Thursday, opening at SG$0.35, a solid 75 per cent higher than its IPO price of SG$0.20. Profit-taking during the session trimmed some of those gains, and the stock ended at SG$0.27, still 35 per cent higher than the issue price, according to Channel News Asia.

OSIM International Ltd. (SGX:O23) said net profit during the second quarter ended June 30 fell 25.5 per cent to SG$21.9 million, while revenue declined 12.7 per cent to SG$159.5 million, primarily due to a weak retail scene across the company’s core countries. However, "our dominant brand has enabled us to maintain a stable gross margin and cash-generative business," the company said.

Sats Ltd (SGX:S58) said net profits in the three months ended June 30 jumped higher by 14.5 per cent year-on-year to SG$49.6 million, while revenue slipped 4.2 per cent to SG$416.9 million. Profitability was boosted due to the company’s focus on productivity and innovation, lower headcount and raw material costs, and higher contributions from foreign associates, the Straits Times said.

Economic news

As financial institutions seek to expand their marketing to sell credit cards and insurance products to the public at retail points such as bus interchanges, MRT stations and shopping centres, retail shoppers could fall prey to impulse buying of unsuitable products and be subjected to harassment by these marketers. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued a consultation paper detailing proposals to regulate such market conduct, and to provide consumers proper advice and protection. MAS wants feedback on these proposals by August 24.

Headline inflation in Singapore continued stubbornly in negative territory for the eighth consecutive month in June. Inflation moved up to -0.3 per cent in June from -0.4 per cent in May led by increases in the costs of services, food and private transport, according to the Business Times. However, core inflation, which is exclusive of accommodation and private transport costs, clocked +0.2 per cent compared to the five-year low of +0.1 per cent in the prior month.

On Wall Street, stocks closed lower in response to disappointing earnings reports from US corporations such as Caterpillar Inc.(NYSE:CAT), 3M Co (NYSE:MMM) and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP). The Dow shed 119 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 17,732, the S&P 500 index fell 12 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 2,102, and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 25 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 5,146.