SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) - A rally in one of Asia’s best-performing stock markets is stalling amid rising virus cases at home and a rethink of the global reflation trade.
Second only to Taiwan among Asia’s major benchmarks this year, Singapore’s Straits Times Index (STI) has slipped 1 per cent so far in May, paring 2021’s gains to about 12 per cent. The reintroduction of social distancing rules following the emergence of new clusters has weighed on investor sentiment, despite the country having one of the highest vaccine coverage in Asia.
But this isn’t only a Singapore story. The Asian financial hub is a microcosm of the worldwide economic rebound, with exports standing at more than 150 per cent of gross domestic product. And with an Asia-leading 86 per cent weighting in so-called cyclicals, the STI has stuttered alongside a pause in the global rotation to such economically-sensitive shares.