Singapore shares end Friday in the red

Singapore stocks closed lower on Friday (Apr 5), tracking falls in most regional markets.

The benchmark $FTSE Singapore Straits Time Index(.STI.SG)$ retreated 0.5 per cent or 16.75 points to 3,218.26.

Across the local bourse, decliners outnumbered advancers 291 to 273, as 1.4 billion securities worth S$940.5 million changed hands.

The top gainer on the STI was conglomerate $JMH USD(J36.SG)$ , which rose 1.8 per cent or US$0.64 to US$37.13.

At the bottom of the index was local bank $DBS Group Holdings(D05.SG)$ , which lost 2.3 per cent or S$0.82 to S$35.50.

The other two local banks were also in the red. $OCBC Bank(O39.SG)$ slid 0.2 per cent or S$0.02 to S$13.74 while $UOB(U11.SG)$ fell 0.2 per cent or S$0.06 to S$29.40.

Outside the Straits Times Index, transport operator $ComfortDelGro(C52.SG)$ climbed 1.4 per cent or S$0.02 to S$1.47.

In a report released on Friday, RHB maintained its strong earnings growth outlook for the mainboard-listed group in 2024 and assessed that recent new contract wins by its UK subsidiary to operate buses in Manchester will increase ComfortDelGro’s FY2025 earnings by 1.8 to 3.6 per cent.