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Wed, Nov 18, 2020-9: 47 am
SINGAPORE shares began trading in slightly positive territory Wednesday morning, even as US stocks fell from their recent overnight highs amid a soft retail sales report and as a vaccine-led rally faded.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) was up 2.21 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,780.76 at 9.02 a.m. M.
The winners outnumbered the losers 72 to 46, after 136.1 million securities worth S $ 78.8 million changed hands.
Among indexed stocks, the most active accountant by volume was Genting Singapore, which gained 0.01 Singapore dollars or 1.2 percent at 0.83 Singapore dollars, with 4.6 million shares traded. Thai Beverage held steady at 70.5 Singapore cents with around three million shares changing hands.
The trio of local moneylenders increased in the first deals. DBS gained $ 0.04 or 0.2 percent to $ 24.69, UOB added $ 0.19 or 0.9 percent to $ 22.23, while OCBC rose $ 0.01 or 0.1 percent to $ 9.80.
Lakshmi Vilas Bank could merge into DBS’s business in India, under a scheme proposed by the Reserve Bank of India, DBS said in a stock market presentation Tuesday night. If approved, DBS will inject Rs 2.5 billion (S $ 463 million) into DBS Bank India Ltd to support the merger.
Separately, DBS also announced a series of new work practices on Tuesday, as Singapore lenders make flexible working a permanent post-Covid-19 feature. Among other things, Singapore’s largest lender will give its 29,000-strong workforce the option of working remotely up to 40 percent of the time.
Other active accountants include CapitaLand Retail China Trust (CRCT), which fell 0.06 Singapore dollars or 4.7 percent to 1.22 Singapore dollars. CRCT’s preferential offer to unitholders is priced at S $ 1.17, the lower end of the indicative range, its manager said in a stock presentation on Wednesday. Meanwhile, his private placement was increased to raise gross proceeds of around S $ 245.4 million.
National carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) and ground operator SATS continued their upward trajectory on Wednesday, after vaccine hopes fueled a rebound in travel and tourism stocks the previous day.
SIA rose 0.03 Singapore dollars or 0.7 percent to 4.09 Singapore dollars, while SATS rose 0.03 Singapore dollars or 0.7% to 4.13 Singapore dollars.
In the US, Wall Street stocks took a bumpy ride on Tuesday, retreating from new records to close lower as a surge in Covid-19 infections in the country undermined tentative optimism about the pace of growth. economic recovery.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.6 percent to end at 29,783.35, after ending at an all-time high at the beginning of the week. The S&P 500, which also closed at a record Monday, lost 0.5 percent to 3,609.53, while the technology-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.2 percent to 11,899.34.
Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at Axi, said: “Equity markets have returned to caution as fear of mobility restrictions increases with the acceleration of new Covid-19 infections and investors are eager for safeguarding year-end earnings. “
European stocks fell from eight-month highs on Tuesday as locks weighed on investor sentiment. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.2% lower. The index had risen more than 1 percent to close Monday at its highest level since late February, following positive data on the possible Covid-19 vaccine from drugmaker Moderna.
Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday on profit-taking. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.5 percent or 132.48 points to 25,882.14 in early trading, while the overall Topix index was down 0.5 percent or 8.55 points to 1,726.11 .
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