Good morning everyone! Here's an overview of the Singapore market this morning:

Market performance

The Singapore stock market opened lower on Wednesday. As of 10:00 a.m. $FTSE Singapore Straits Time Index (.STI.SG)$ It fell 0.48% to 3382.240 points, and Star stocks rose 66 and fell 78.

Market highlights

Inflation is stable, and economists disagree on the future monetary policy of the Monetary Authority of Singapore

After the overall inflation rate stabilized at 2.5% year over year in July, economic experts expressed different opinions on the next steps taken by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). RHB believes MAS will maintain its current policy settings throughout the year, emphasizing the country's strong economic growth and reduced risk of global inflation. They believe that the current rate of appreciation of the Singapore dollar's nominal effective exchange rate policy range is sufficient to control import inflation and domestic cost pressure, thus achieving medium-term price stability.

In contrast, UOB predicts that the Monetary Authority of Singapore may begin policy normalization in October 2024, which may reduce the nominal effective exchange rate slope of the Singapore dollar, as core inflation will generally fall from 2.9% in June to 2.5% in July. Driven by the base effect, UOB expects the core inflation rate to drop sharply by the first quarter of 2025, and the average core inflation rate for 2024 is expected to be 3.0%.

Societe Generale has lowered its overall inflation forecast from 3.5% to 2.6% because the regional inflation trend is sluggish this year and the increase is lower than expected, while maintaining the core inflation forecast of 2.8% for the whole year.

Singapore's manufacturing industry is expected to grow in the fourth quarter of 2024

Singapore's manufacturing growth is expected to accelerate in the fourth quarter of 2024, particularly in the electronics sector, where production increased 1.8% year over year in July. UOB attributed potential growth to major central banks lowering policy interest rates, which could increase investment and consumer spending. Additionally, the electronics industry is likely to grow due to inventory replenishment and the upgrading of obsolete electronics products. Societe Generale expects the manufacturing industry to continue to maintain its strong momentum, and industrial production is expected to grow by 1.0% throughout the year, driven by global trade and economic recovery.

Apartment resale surged in July and is expected to cool down in August

According to 99-SRX media alert, Singapore's apartment resale volume increased sharply by 32.2% in July, to 1,075 units, compared to 813 units in June, up 21.7% year over year. Most of these sales took place outside the Chuo Region (OCR), which accounted for 51.9% of the transaction volume. This surge is due to seasonal activity after school holidays. However, experts predict that due to July of the lunar calendar, the market will be calmer in August, and resale apartment prices are expected to remain stable until the end of 2024.

Individual stocks in focus

$Wing Tai (W05.SG)$: Yongtai Holdings reported a sharp increase in net loss in the second half of fiscal year 2024, from S$50 million a year ago to S$99.2 million. The losses were mainly due to falling revenue from development properties, including the underperforming condominium project The M. Revenue plummeted 67% to S$71.5 million. The loss per share also increased to SGD0.1338 from S$0.0701 last year. The company's associated companies and joint ventures, particularly in the challenging Hong Kong market, contributed greatly to the economic downturn. Looking at the full year, Yongtai Holdings reversed from net profit of SGD 13.3 million in fiscal year 2023 to net loss of S$78.7 million in fiscal year 2024, and revenue fell 64% to SGD 0.1692 billion. Despite these challenges, Yongtai remains cautiously optimistic about the future improvement of the Singapore private housing market.

$Kep Infra Tr (A7RU.SG)$: Keppel Infrastructure Trust (KIT) announced a private placement aimed at raising at least S$0.2 billion. The funds will mainly be used to repay part of the S$0.3918 billion term loan, which was used to acquire Ventura Motors in Australia. Placed units will be sold at a discount of 6% to 8.6% below the previous day's volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of SGD 0.4662, and the final issue price is yet to be determined. Additionally, KIT plans to announce early dividends of S$0.007 per unit from July 1 to the placement release date. Proceeds will also be used to cover costs associated with the placement and help pay off existing debts. The placement is expected to be completed on August 28, at which time the trustee will request a suspension of the transaction.

Stock repurchases

Source: Business Times, SGInvestors.io, Business Review

Editor/Feynman