Singapore blue chips decline amid Brent crude surge

[SINGAPORE] Brent crude price movements continued to hold equities to ransom on Thursday (Mar 12), with Singapore blue-chip stocks declining after the oil surged above US$100 a barrel.

The Straits Times Index (STI) closed 0.2 per cent or 8.48 points lower at 4,855.33, while the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index rose 0.6 per cent or eight points to 1,445.12.

DFI Retail Group was the worst STI performer with a 5.3 per cent or US$0.25 fall to US$4.50. Meanwhile, its holding company Jardine Matheson topped the blue-chip tally with a gain of 2.2 per cent or US$1.65, finishing at US$76.31.

The banking trio were mixed. OCBC was 0.5 per cent or S$0.11 lower at S$20.75, and DBS declined 0.6 per cent or S$0.35 to S$55.37. UOB ended 0.4 per cent or S$0.15 higher at S$36.24. Decliners beat gainers 302 to 262 across the broader market, with 1.5 billion securities worth S$2 billion transacted.

The global benchmark Brent rocketed by over 10 per cent to US$101.59 a barrel on Thursday, while West Texas Intermediate rose to near US$96, fuelled by Iraq’s decision to stop operations at its oil ports after two tankers were targeted.

Iran also warned that oil prices could reach US$200 a barrel, as it continues to attack merchant ships in the Gulf.

Eli Lee, chief investment strategist at Bank of Singapore, said the private bank is downgrading Malaysia to “neutral” and the Philippines and Indonesia to “underweight”, but continues to favour Hong Kong, mainland China and Singapore.

“Although about half of China’s crude oil imports originate from the Gulf and pass through the Strait of Hormuz, China has accumulated one of the world’s largest strategic and commercial crude reserves,” he noted.