THE Straits Times Index closed at 3,499.89 on Monday (Jul 15), up 2.11 points or 0.06 per cent, in a mixed day for Asian indices.
The benchmark had started strong, possibly buoyed by bets that a shooting at former United States president Donald Trump’s election rally would raise his odds of becoming the country’s next leader. Under Trump, markets expect less regulation and a change in the Federal Reserve’s direction.
Several other Asian indices ended the day higher, among them: Malaysia (+0.66 per cent), the Philippines (+0.62 per cent) and South Korea (+0.14 per cent).
Quite a few ended lower, however, including Japan (-2.45 per cent), Hong Kong (-1.52 per cent) and Indonesia (-0.66 per cent).
The other major driver of sentiment for the day was China’s release of various macroeconomic data points. China’s gross domestic product increased 4.7 per cent in the second quarter of the year, below an expectation of 5.1 per cent indicated a Reuters poll.
Yeap Jun Rong, market analyst at IG, said the retail sales figure was probably the “biggest disappointment, with its significant underperformance reinforcing the weak state of consumer spending”.
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UOB said in a note to clients that the weak retail data suggested it will be “challenging” for China to maintain its growth momentum in the second half.
Singapore stocks with significant China exposure ended the day down. Real estate asset manager CapitaLand Investment closed at S$2.76, down 1.8 per cent. Commodities supplier Wilmar International closed at S$3.14, down 1 per cent.
