SGX Weekly Review | STI Falls 0.84%; OCBC Bank Gains 1%; Haze Concerns Weigh on Plantation Stocks as First Resources Slumps Over 10%
Singapore Stocks End Week Lower; STI Drops 0.84%
Singapore equities closed the week in negative territory, with the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) falling 0.84% over the full week.
Local Banks Mixed
The three local banks posted mixed performances for the week. OCBC Bank gained 1%, while DBS declined 1.76% and UOB slipped 0.53%.
Plantation Stocks Slump on Haze Concerns
Singapore-listed plantation counters broadly retreated amid haze-related concerns. First Resources tumbled 10.6% for the week, Wilmar International fell 9.88%, Bumitama Agri dropped 6.75%, and Indofood Agri Resources lost 4.41%.
Market News
Singapore Q3 retrenchments rise to 4,800; resident unemployment edges up to 3%: flash data
The number of layoffs rose to 4,800 in the third quarter, from 4,620 in Q2 – with Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Friday (Oct 30) warning of “emerging weaknesses in parts of the labour market” in its flash data release.
This was the fifth straight quarter in which retrenchments have edged up.
Retrenchments – which were concentrated in outward-oriented sectors, including information and communications, financial services and manufacturing – were driven mainly by business restructuring, according to MOM.
Singapore factory output growth slows sharply to 3.4% in September, missing forecasts
The Republic’s factory output growth slowed sharply to 3.4 per cent year on year in September, from 15.4 per cent in August, as electronics production moderated and biomedical manufacturing contracted.
The reading fell short of the 7.8 per cent expansion forecast by private-sector economists in a Bloomberg poll, based on data released by the Economic Development Board (EDB) on Monday (Oct 26).
Excluding the volatile biomedical manufacturing cluster, output increased 9 per cent year on year, down from August’s revised 16.8 per cent expansion.
Firms linked to haze pledge cooperation in meeting with Shanmugam; government to table changes to haze law
Singaporean companies allegedly linked to haze-related activities have agreed to cooperate fully with the government, Senior Minister K Shanmugam told reporters after a meeting with the firms’ senior leadership on Wednesday (Oct 28).
During the meeting, Shanmugam, who is also coordinating minister for national security, urged the companies to voluntarily undergo assessments of their operations and supply chains.
The government will publicly name the CEOs and companies that voluntarily agree to these assessments, he told executives at the meeting.
Government to bring forward raising of retirement age, give employers more financial support to create flexi-load jobs
The government has accepted six measures recommended by a tripartite work group for senior employment, including raising retirement and re-employment ages ahead of schedule, as well as providing more financial support, wage credits and tax breaks.
These recommendations, which were released in a report on Monday (Oct 26), include programmes in three broad areas: to reduce premature exits and support re-entry; enable opportunities beyond statutory retirement and re-employment; and uplift lower-wage seniors.
The work group comprises representatives from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), National Trades Union Congress and the Singapore National Employers Federation.
$(STI.SI)$ $(O39.SI)$ $(EB5.SI)$ $(ES3.SI)$ $(G3B.SI)$ $(GAB.SI)$Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.
