Singapore stock wrap: Singtel, ST Engineering, Wilmar, ThaiBev

Straits Times Index down 2% this week

Singapore stock benchmark Straits Times Index (STI Index) fell 2% this week, following US Federal Reserve’s bleak recovery outlook for the US economy.

Of the 30 blue-chip stocks tracked by the STI, only four companies managed share price gains by the end of the week, as investor sentiment waned.

Here are the index's top gainers and losers for the week ending 21 August 2020.

Wilmar share price: ↓7.8%

Palm oil producer Wilmar International experienced the largest share price decline this week, a week after the company posted a 50% improvement in net profit for the first six months of fiscal 2020.

Wilmar also raised interim dividends by 33% to S$0.04 a share, up from S$0.03 a year ago. Consequently, we included the company in our latest ‘Top Singapore Dividend Stocks to Watch’ list.

The stock finished the week at S$4.45 per share, a drop of 7.8% from an opening mark of S$4.83.

IG data showed that ‘buys’ formed 63% of all trades on the Wilmar counter this week. Additionally, just 23% of IG client accounts with open positions in this market currently anticipate further price declines (short orders), with the remaining 77% holding ‘buy’ (long) positions.

Singtel share price: ↓ 6.6%

Telecommunications conglomerate Singtel posted an operating revenue of S$3.54 billion in its latest financial update – 14% lower year-on-year.

The reported revenue also missed analyst estimates of S$3.62 billion by 2.3%. Following its results, the Singtel share price fell as much as 5%.

Consequently, the stock ended the week at S$2.28 per share, down 6.6% from Monday’s starting bid price of S$2.44.

IG’s market analysis showed that ‘buys’ formed 73% of all trades on the Singtel counter this week.

Meanwhile, 93% of IG client accounts with open orders in this market currently hold ‘buy’ (long) positions, indicating an expectation for a price increase in the near term.

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Hongkong Land share price: +4.3%

Luxury commercial and retail property developer Hongkong Land was the biggest gainer on the STI Index this week.

The group’s shares managed to finish a difficult week 4.3% higher at US$3.86 (S$5.28) per share.

This is a stark contrast from three weeks back, when share price fell 24% after the company’s shareholder profit sunk 24% in the first half of 2020.

IG data showed that ‘sells’ comprised 77% of all trades on the Hongkong Land counter this week. In terms of client outlook, 84% of opened client accounts held ‘long’ positions, versus 16% of ‘shorts’.

ThaiBev share price: +2.14%

Beverage and beer producer Thai Beverage also managed to stay in the black this week, as it concluded the week 2.14% higher at S$0.62 per share.

Last week, the group reported a 7.4% decline in sales revenue year-on-year for the nine months ending 30 June 2020. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, however, rose 2.2%.

IG’s market analysis showed that ‘buys’ formed 68% of all trades on the ThaiBev counter this week.

Additionally, 96% of opened client accounts currently hold a ‘buy (long)’ outlook on the stock, as compared to 4% banking on ‘sell’.

ST Engineering (STE) share price: +1.5%

Technology, defence and engineering group ST Engineering also bucked the losing trend, as it closed proceedings at S$3.42 per share.

This represents an increase of 1.5% from Monday’s buy-in rate of S$3.39.

Last week, the company reported a 4% decline in net profit as well as earnings per share, on the back of higher costs and impairment of intangible assets.

IG data showed that ‘sells’ made up 76% of all trades on the STE counter this week. Meanwhile, 82% of client accounts with open positions expect the share price to rise in the near term.

How to trade Singapore's top companies with IG

Are you feeling bullish or bearish on Straits Times Index (STI Index) stocks? Either way you can buy (long) or sell (short) the asset using derivatives like CFDs offered on IG's industry-leading trading platform in a few easy steps:

1. Create a live or demo IG Trading Account, or log in to your existing account
2. Enter <company name> in the search bar and select the instrument
3. Choose your position size
4. Click on ‘buy’ or ‘sell’ in the deal ticket
5. Confirm the trade