2 days Ago By The Straits Times
SINGAPORE – Concerns about developments overseas – both financial and political – helped send local shares down a touch on Nov 20. Investors were awaiting chipmaker Nvidia’s earnings report while keeping a wary eye on escalating tensions after Ukraine fired its first US missile into Russia. The cautionary mood was enough to push the Straits Times Index (STI) down 0.
4 per cent or 14.33 points to 3,743.64, although gainers pipped losers 269 to 235 in the broader market on solid trade of 1.
3 billion securities worth $1.2 billion. Wall Street saw mixed results overnight.
The Nasdaq added 1 per cent, lifted by gains in Nvidia, and the S&P 500 put on 0.4 per cent but the Dow industrials fell 0.3 per cent.
It was much the same mixed outcome in the region. Japan’s Nikkei 225, the Kospi in Seoul and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added modest amounts but Malaysian shares lost 0.3 per cent while Australia’s bourse came off its record close on Nov 19.
Ms Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, noted that there is a positive outlook for Nvidia’s financial performance, saying that strong AI demand, particularly for its next-generation Blackwell chips, “hints that the results will probably meet and hopefully beat expectations”. She also pointed out that the possibility of the incoming Trump administration further reviving the chip war with China is not a major worry any more as Nvidia has a “significantly smaller exposure to China today than it did before”. Closer to home, the STI was led by supermarket and retail store operator DFI Retail Group, which climbed 2.
4 per cent to US$2.54 with around 1.5 million shares changing hands.
The index was dragged down by telco giant Singtel, which fell 3.1 per cent to $3.13.
The trio of local lenders ended the day mixed. DBS Bank fell 0.8 per cent to $42.
21, OCBC Bank closed flat at $16.48 and UOB slid 0.5 per cent to $36.
23. THE BUSINESS TIMES.
