Singapore shares ended flat on Monday, as heavy selling of property stocks dominated the Straits Times Index.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index closed 0.32 point at 2,757.46. Gainers outnumbered losers 269 to 167, and overall volume was 1.12 billion shares worth $1.2 billion.
Property traders encountered heavy selling pressure after the government announced new measures to control speculation in the private homes market. New measures include imposing a stamp duty on homeowners who sell their property within 12 months of purchase.
CapitaLand fell 3.6% to S$3.76, Wing Tai Holdings gave up 5.1% to S$1.68 and City Developments lost 4.8% to S$10.30.
The stock market was unmoved when Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam delivered his 2010 Budget Statement on Monday afternoon.
“Singapore’s 2010 Budget is not expected to give equities a short-term boost,” said DBS Vickers. It noted that the focus of the budget was more on Singapore’s long-term structural changes that aim on enhancing companies’ productivity.
Among gainers, Neptune Orient Lines saw an increase of 5.4% to S$1.75, as investors revisited the stock after a recent decline partly due to the group’s US$740 million net loss in 2009.
Genting Singapore also gained 3.2% to S$0.97 as investors are hoping that the newly opened Resorts World Sentosa will help boost its returns this year.