Investors turned defensive yesterday as the pandemic sparked more lockdowns and tighter border restrictions across the world.
The wary mood left the Straits Times Index (STI) down 0.67 per cent, or 19.2 points, at 2,827.32 yesterday. Across the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 277 to 178, on trade of 1.64 billion securities worth $1.32 billion.
The coronavirus resurgence in countries including Britain and Australia saw mixed results on the Singapore market. Glovemaker counters including Riverstone, Top Glove and UG Healthcare ticked up, with UG Healthcare registering the biggest gain – up 9.65 per cent to 62.5 cents. Riverstone closed 6.25 per cent higher at $1.19, while Top Glove gained 0.92 per cent to $2.20.
In contrast, aviation-related counters like Singapore Airlines (SIA), ground handler and in-flight caterer Sats, and SIA Engineering were hit by the global flare-up. SIA fell 3.43 per cent to $4.23, Sats declined 3.19 per cent to $3.94 and SIA Engineering fell 3.48 per cent to $1.94.
SIA earlier announced it had used $7.1 billion, or about 80 per cent, of the $8.8 billion raised in the dilutive rights issue this year, as it burns through hundreds of millions of dollars a month. This could lead the carrier to tap the $6.2 billion issuance of additional mandatory convertible bonds.
Sembcorp Marine, with over 161.6 million shares traded, topped the most active tally but fell 2.78 per cent to 14 cents.
Regional markets were mostly down. Shanghai shares fell 1.86 per cent, the biggest decline among key indexes. South Korea’s Kospi Index was down 1.62 per cent, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.05 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slid 1.04 per cent, the Hang Seng fell 0.71 per cent, and Malaysian stocks were 0.97 per cent lower.
