70% Vaccination key to Singapore’s reopening

Much can be said about the current COVID-19 situation in Singapore. First of all, we are still getting double-digit unlinked cases on a daily basis, which means that the spread of the virus is still ongoing. Secondly, the number of deaths is also increasing with a few deaths reported in the last few weeks. Lastly, many have also got the hint from the latest review of restrictions that only allow vaccinated individuals to dine in at restaurants and non-coffee shops or hawker centers food establishments.

Now what about our market’s performance, all I can say is we are starting to see some companys’ 1H financials improving compared to 2019 1H performance. One notable observation is that all 3 banks are not heading north in the past week despite reporting much better 1H performance. Perhaps we might need more time to see the final outcome for some companies but it seems like the upside for the market is limited at the moment.

STI – Updated Daily Chart

On the STI Daily Chart, we are still looking at a slight uptrend however, if the support line above does not hold, we might see a further correction as companies cut dividends during this period.

STI – Updated Weekly Chart

The weekly chart for STI shows that it is still trying to climb after it has finished its consolidation phase.

Author’s Call as of 14th August 2021

• Singapore is still facing new unlinked cases on a daily basis and we are relying on vaccination rates to keep severe cases low
• Death cases are climbing for the unvaccinated individuals
• We are still expecting STI to stay on the uptrend as many companies are showing a rebound in performance compared to pre-pandemic period
• Looking at the current market conditions, STI is still poised for a further climb in the coming weeks

Author’s Call as of 7th August 2021

• Expect more positive price movements on Tuesday in view of the lifting of restrictions
• The STI continues to trend sideways with a bit of volatility
• More restructuring expected for beaten down counters in STI but dates are still unknown
• Holding for the coming week would be a good choice for most investors who have deployed most of their capital