Singapore stocks rise amid mixed regional showing; STI up 0.5%

SINGAPORE stocks rose on Thursday (Nov 14) as Asian indices closed mixed and the US dollar continued to strengthen.

The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.5 per cent or 17.82 points to 3,738.16. Across the broader market, losers beat gainers 303 to 233, after 1.3 billion securities worth S$1.3 billion changed hands.

South Korea’s Kospi edged up 0.1 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 0.5 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 2 per cent.

SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said the appreciation of the US dollar is “primed to cut a swath of carnage through Asia’s asset markets, leaving economic strain in its wake”.

He noted that when the US dollar had appreciated strongly in the past, Asian markets took a hit.

“Waves of unrelenting dollar strength have battered the region before, erasing gains on local currency debt – the backbone of Asia’s emerging markets.

“Countries with hefty US dollar-denominated debt are bracing for impact, and for some, this could be the last straw, with swelling debt levels and fragile growth dynamics setting them up for a hard fall,” Innes said.

He added that the US dollar’s dominance is “poised to become an economic wrecking ball” to economies closely linked to China.

On the STI, US dollar-denominated Hongkong Land was the top gainer. It rose 3.6 per cent or US$0.16 to US$4.56.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding came in at the bottom of the table, shedding 1.9 per cent or S$0.05 to S$2.55.

The trio of local banks all ended in the black. UOB was up 1.4 per cent or S$0.50 at S$36, OCBC climbed 1.3 per cent or S$0.21 to S$16.47, while DBS rose 0.6 per cent or S$0.24 to S$43.02.