SG Morning Call | Singapore Stocks Open Lower; As US-Iran War Resumes, Volatility Returns to SIA, Oiltek Shares

Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened lower on Tuesday. STI fell 0.26%; $YZJ Shipbldg SGD(BS6.SI)$ rose 1.76%; $Keppel(BN4.SI)$ rose 1.29%.

Stocks in Focus

$SGX(S68.SI)$: SGX has divested its wholly owned subsidiary, Scientific Beta, to global index provider Stoxx for a consideration of about 23 million euros (US$26.3 million), the local bourse operator said on Wednesday. The transaction is part of the group’s efforts towards active portfolio management and capital allocation. Shares of SGX fell 0.7 per cent or S$0.16 to close at S$24.01 on Wednesday.

$AIMS APAC Reit(O5RU.SI)$: The real estate investment trust (Reit) is acquiring a 9.15-hectare freehold industrial landholding in Perth, Australia, for A$42.7 million (US$29.6 million), the manager said on Thursday. The fully occupied property is leased to Swan Materials under a 10-year triple-net lease that features a fixed annual rental escalation rate of 3.25 per cent. Expected to generate an initial yield of 5.3 per cent, the debt-funded acquisition is distribution per unit accretive. Units of Aims Apac Reit rose 0.6 per cent or S$0.01 to close at S$1.64 on Wednesday.

SG Local News

As US-Iran war resumes, volatility returns to SIA, Oiltek shares

As peace talks fail in the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz – through which 20 per cent of global oil would have normally flowed – effectively closes again, markets and economies are bracing for the fallout from a sustained spike in oil and gas prices.

Shares of $Oiltek(HQU.SI)$ closed 6.3 per cent or S$0.09 higher at S$1.51 on Thursday (Jul 9), on the back of the resumption of the conflict in Iran and the increase in oil prices.

New MAS proposal could pave way for commodity futures funds, more single-country bond funds for retail investors

Retail investors in Singapore could gain access to futures-based single-commodity funds and a wider range of single-country government bond funds, with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Thursday (Jul 9) outlining a proposal for a more flexible framework to bring innovative fund products to market faster.

This comes as investor sophistication grows in the Republic and investor needs continue to evolve, noted MAS. The authority said that it has received interest from the industry to offer new retail fund product types that cater to a broader range of investment objectives.