Market Review and Outlook
The Singapore stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, gathering almost 70 points or 2.1 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,280-point plateau although the rally may stall on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The STI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index advanced 31.18 points or 0.96 percent to finish at 3,280.69 after trading between 3,259.35 and 3,289.07.
Local News to Watch
Changi Clocks Over Half a Million Passenger Movements Between Singapore and China in August
Air travel traffic between Singapore and China is slowly but surely recovering from the impact of the pandemic, with passenger and flight volumes at Changi Airport now at over 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels.
Operator Changi Airport Group (CAG) recorded passenger movements of 510,000 between the two countries in August. This was 72 percent of the figure recorded in August 2019, before the pandemic hit Singapore in January 2020.
CAG noted that August 2023 was the first time passenger movements to and from China crossed the half-million mark since the pandemic. The company attributed the improved traffic to the gradual easing of travel restrictions by China.
Singapore’s Anti-Money Laundering Regime Sound, but Banks Can Dial up Scrutiny on Property Financing: DBS Gupta
Singapore’s anti-money-laundering regime is sound, with banks having invested heavily in anti-fraud technology since the global financial crisis, said DBS Group CEO Piyush Gupta, although no system can be 100 percent foolproof.
“Looking for illicit actors and funds is like finding a needle in a haystack,” he said.
Major banks such as United Overseas Bank, Standard Chartered, Malaysia’s CIMB Bank, Citigroup’s local subsidiary, Deutsche Bank, DBS and the Bank of Singapore have recently been linked to one of Singapore’s largest money-laundering cases involving more than S$1.8 billion in assets, including properties, luxury cars and cash.
New Private Home Sales Shrink in August As Ghost Month, Weak Sentiment Keep Buyers Away
Developers sold just 394 new private residential units in August, 72.1 percent lower than July’s sales figures, and also 10 percent lower year on year.
Including executive condominiums (ECs), developers sold 649 units in August, down from the 1,471 units sold the month before, according to data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday (Sep 15).
August is typically a slow month for property sales, as traditional beliefs about avoiding home purchases in the seventh month in the lunar calendar keep buyers at bay, analysts noted.
