STI snaps 2-session rally, falls 1.3% on Wednesday

Singapore's Straits Times Index (STI) ended a two-session rally on Wednesday, with the benchmark closing 32.45 points or 1.3 per cent lower to 2,539.44. Twenty-two of the STI's 30 counters finished in the red.

The weaker performance in the city-state followed a late-session dip for key Wall Street indices on Tuesday, as investors nursed reservations over whether the recent slower rise in the number of Covid-19 infections globally was sustainable.

Markets are also assessing whether the largest oil-producing countries will strike a deal this week to cut output and bring the supply glut to an end.

While China's lifting of a 76-day lockdown on Wuhan is a positive, the road to recovery from the coronavirus will be long-drawn.

Stephen Innes, AxiCorp's chief global markets strategist, noted: "While this is another sign that activities are normalising, the economic impact might last longer, as unemployment levels may be slow to normalise after many small businesses were forced into bankruptcy."

Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific, equity benchmarks in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand finished with losses. On the other hand, Japan's Nikkei 225 Index was a notable gainer, adding 403.06 points or 2.1 per cent to 19,353.24.

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Singapore Exchange (SGX) was the best performing STI constituent on Wednesday, adding S$0.21 or 2.2 per cent to S$9.79.

Citi Research analyst Robert Kong said: "After a (March) of almost unprecedented market volatility driven by global uncertainties, we expect SGX to be a key beneficiary in both a surge in equity turnover and derivative contract volumes. April and beyond could potentially bring further volatility." The bank-brokerage raised its target price of the bourse operator to S$10.80 from S$9.60.

Genting Singapore remained the STI's most actively traded stock for successive sessions, closing S$0.02 or 2.8 per cent up to 74.5 cents; 63.1 million shares changed hands.

Among real estate investment trusts (Reits), units in Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) ended S$0.03 or 1.8 per cent higher at S$1.66 after DBS Group Research upgraded the industrial Reit to "buy". DBS views MLT as a "safe harbour" amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Across the Singapore market, decliners outpaced advancers 233 to 200, with 1.46 billion securities valued at S$1.26 billion traded.