Singapore stocks edge up despite Wall Street retreat; STI up 0.1%

LOCAL equities inched up on Thursday as traders continued to harbour hopes of a fiscal stimulus package ahead of the upcoming US presidential election.

AxiCorp's chief market strategist Stephen Innes said that investors are now "suffering a severe case of stimulus talk exhaustion", and more people are now opting for the sidelines.

He is, however, expecting markets to trend in a "more volatile" manner in the lead-up to the highly-anticipated "major macro event of the year".

"Stock market investors have enough cash to put to work, and things will bounce back in a big way despite this week's teenage crush with a pre-election stimulus hurting the view."

The benchmark Straits Times Index closed 0.1 per cent or 2.8 points higher at 2,528.41, with decliners outnumbering advancers 211 to 202 after some 1.34 billion securities worth S$1.01 billion changed hands.

Venture Corporation was the biggest loser of the day, after having hit a 52-week high of S$21.21 on Wednesday morning. RHB had upgraded the stock to a "buy", citing an improved outlook. The counter ended the day at S$20.55, down two per cent or S$0.42.

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City Developments Limited extended its slide on Thursday, shedding 1.1 per cent or $0.08 to close at S$7.00. Investors continued to take flight following the resignation of non-executive and non-independent director Kwek Leng Peck; some 10.5 million shares changed hands over the course of the day.

Jardine Matheson Holdings and Jardine Strategic Holdings were again the top gainers for the day. The former added US$0.54 or 1.3 per cent to US$43.03; the latter gained US$0.28 or 1.4 per cent to end the day at US$20.96.

Among the constituent stocks, Wilmar International and Sembcorp Industries came out tops, each gaining 1.4 per cent over the course of the day. Wilmar closed S$0.06 higher at S$4.30; Sembcorp gained S$0.02 to S$1.43.

The trio of lenders ended the day in the black. DBS gained 0.9 per cent or S$0.19 to S$21.44; UOB added 0.3 per cent or S$0.06 to S$19.98, and OCBC closed at S$8.76, up 0.1 per cent or S$0.01.

Stocks on Wall Street retreated amid election and stimulus uncertainties. The Dow Jones Industrial average fell 0.4 per cent; S&P 500 lost 0.2 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.3 per cent.

Asian markets ended the day mixed. The KLCI rose 0.4 per cent, the Hang Seng Index gained 0.1 per cent. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.7 per cent, and the broader Topix closed 1.1 per cent lower.