AS THE impact of Covid-19 becomes clearer, with more companies posting earnings declines and misses, the Straits Times Index on Thursday also fell 43.63 points or 1.7 per cent to 2,529.82. Losers outnumbered gainers 289 to 184, after about 1.99 billion securities worth S$2.97 billion changed hands.
The best performer on the index was Dairy Farm International, which rose US$0.13 or 3.13 per cent to US$4.28, despite reporting a 35 per cent drop in net profit to US$115 million in its first half. Analysts remained positive on it, however. DBS Group Research kept its “buy” rating on the stock, citing its attractive valuation and ongoing transformation that remains “well on track”.
The most active counter of the day was Thai Beverage, which added S$0.01 or 1.59 per cent to S$0.64, with 125.4 million shares changing hands. Earlier this week, JPMorgan had put out a research report on Thai consumer companies, saying that it expected a better showing for those selling staples versus discretionary items, but it was “overweight” on ThaiBev due to its “sufficient valuation discount”.