Liquidity driving STI towards June peak, but forecasts turning cautious

Lower-for-longer interest rate environment bodes well for dividend-paying equities; cyclicals preferred outside of industrials sector

Published Thu, Jul 2, 2020 · 09:50 PM

Straits Times Index

Singapore

A SEA of liquidity will likely keep local blue chips buoyant for the rest of the year. But few pundits expect the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) to push past the peak of its short-lived rally in June, a mid-year tally by The Business Times has shown.

Even the most bullish broker is forecasting a 12-month target of 3,000 points for the STI - a good 200 points lower than where it began the year. Most brokers' targets for the STI are clustered in the 2,700 to 3,000 range, with the lowest at 2,200. The STI closed at 2,636.69 on Thursday, up 1 per cent.

In a note this week, CGS-CIMB head of research Lim Siew Khee flagged that bearish momentum is growing: "The sharp sell-off that followed since June suggests that the long-term trend …