In 2016, Singapore’s Consumer Staples Sector surged 25.8% on a capitalisation-weighted total return basis. There was a degree of consistency in the returns of the 10 biggest stocks of the Sector with total returns averaging 28.9%. Among the 10 biggest stocks of the Consumer Staples Sector, the three best performers were Japfa, Super Group & GAR.
The FTSE ST Small Cap Index is a free float-adjusted, market capitalisation-weighted index representing the performance of small-capitalised companies listed on the SGX Mainboard. A component stock of the FTSE ST Small Cap Index has an average market capitalisation of S$563 million. In the YTD, the five best-performing constituents of the FTSE ST Small Cap Index were Best World International (+377.5%), Japfa (+96.1%), Geo Energy Resources (+60.7%), Super Group (+56.4%) and PEC (+51.2%).
The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index is a free float adjusted market-capitalisation weighted index representing the performance of the mid-capitalised companies trading listed on the SGX Mainboard. The average market capitalisation of a FTSE ST Mid Cap Index constituent is S$2.5 billion. In the 2016 YTD, the FTSE ST Mid Cap Index generated a 7.3% total return, taking its five year total return to 45.5%.
Singapore lists four Coal mining plays - Golden Energy and Resources, Geo Energy Resources, Resources Prima Group and BlackGold Natural Resources. All four stocks mine thermal coal - used to generate electricity, with mining conducted in Indonesia, and all companies report in US Dollars. The YTD returns of the four Coal miners have been mixed, with average returns of 1% in the 2016 year thus far. Geo Energy Resources has been the best performing of the four stocks with a 57% return.
While the STI generated a total return of 4.4% in the first 11 months of 2016, the three STI Consumer Staples Stocks averaged a 27.2% total return and the three STI Consumer Discretionary Stocks averaged a 15.2% total return. Last week two Consumer Staples stocks - Bumitama Agri and Dairy Farm International Holdings, and two Consumer Discretionary stocks - Parkson Retail Asia and Genting Singapore, were among the 10 most actively traded stocks with the biggest volume increases.
The SGX MOE Index gained 12.5% in the past month, mainly due to crude prices which rallied 16.4% after OPEC announced production cuts. The five best-performing SGX MOE Index constituents are Ezion Holdings (+26.7%), IEV Holdings (+24.5%), Vard Holdings (+22.4%), AusGroup (+22.0%) and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (+16.6%). These five stocks averaged 22.4% total return in the past month.
The month of November saw six different sectors represented among the 10 most actively traded stocks with the biggest volume increases. Almost half of the 10 most actively traded stocks were real estate plays. They comprised two REITs – AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT and Manulife US REIT, one Real Estate Developer – GSH Corporation, and one Real Estate Operating Company – Global Logistic Properties.
Output from Singapore’s semiconductors sector (accounting for 17% of total manufacturing activity) increased 41.7% YoY in October 2016, building on the 35.9% expansion seen in September. The global semiconductor industry also saw resurgent sales momentum.
The Singapore stock market has seen mixed returns across sectors post US-elections, with evidence of sectoral rotation to cyclical plays from less cyclical stocks. Singapore’s Consumer Staples Sector has remained relatively resilient despite its defensive nature, averaging a total return of 0.9% in the month-to-date, in line with STI’s 1.0%, but outperforming the MSCI AC Asia Pacific Consumer Staples Index’s -4.0%.
Post-US elections, the SGX S-REIT Index has corrected 4.5%, underperforming the flat performance of the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI), but in line with that of the MSCI World REIT Index, largely due to rising expectations of an interest rate hike by the Fed next month.
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