Stocks in Singapore fell 2.6% (or 2.9% in US$-terms) in September, fuelled by the global pullback in technology stocks. This was slightly better compared to Asia Pacific indices which fell 3.8% and global indices which fell 3.9% (both in US$-terms).
In Singapore, institutional investors, commonly referred to as “smart money” net, sold in September – to the tune of $394.4 million. This was 53% higher than the net sold in August of $258.1 million. And this net sell was led by the three local banks and Singtel.
While there was a net sell in September, institutional investors continue to invest as well (just that the net outcome is negative). In this edition of 4 Stocks This Week, we look at the 4 most bought stocks in Singapore.
Ascendas REIT (SGX: A17U)
Ascendas REIT (SGX: A17U) was the highest net bought counter on SGX in September, accounting for a net buy of $55.7 million. While this may not seem like a lot, we have to understand that we’re looking at net buy (after taking into consideration both buying and selling) and not total buy.
It may also be no surprise that Ascendas REIT is the most net bought counter in September as REITs registered a net buy of $140.5 million. Ascendas REIT is also the largest Singapore-listed REIT and is on the Straits Times Index (STI) with a market capitalisation of $11.6 billion.
Despite being the highest net buy counter, Ascendas REIT’s share price dipped 2.4% to $3.24. In the first nine days of October, Ascendas REIT’s share price has fallen to $3.20 or another 1.2%.
Read Also: Complete Guide To Investing In Singapore REITs
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (SGX: BS6)
Yangzijiang (SGX: BS6) is another counter also on the STI. In September, Yangzijiang’s net institutional buy was $55.1 million – just a shade behind the top spot.
Besides institutional investors, share buybacks performed by the company can also point to good reasons for buying the stock. In fact, we also featured Yangzijiang in this column just last week accounting for the top 4 stocks with the highest share buybacks in September.
The combination of institutional net buys and share buybacks in September translated into a share price appreciation of 8.2%, from $0.915 to $0.99, in the month for Yangzijiang. In the first nine days of October, Yangzijiang’s share price has tapered 1.5% to $0.975.
SGX (SGX: S68)
Another STI counter, SGX (SGX: B68) clocked in $37.6 million in net institutional buys in September.
While the pandemic has not been kind to many sectors, SGX has seen increased interest and activity in the Singapore stock market due to the volatility it has brought. For its financial year ended 30 June 2020, SGX reported higher revenue and net profit.
In the month of September, SGX’s share price rose 6.3% to $9.15. This represented some clawback of the 23.0% it lost in the three months between 22 April and 23 June – mainly after announcing that the bulk of its license agreement with MSCI would expire in February 2021. MSCI subsequently announced it would move licensing for derivative products to Hong Kong from Singapore.
Read Also: #Resilience: Here’s Why Singapore Will Not Only Survive The COVID-19 Recession – But Thrive
ParkwayLife REIT (SGX: C2PU)
The only counter not on the STI, ParkwayLife REIT (SGX: C2PU) rounds up the 4 counters with the top net institutional buys in September, with $33.8 million net institutional buy.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the only non-STI counter in the top 4 net institutional buys happens to be a REIT. As mentioned above, REITs represented the top sector with $140.5 million net institutional inflow into the sector.
In September, ParkwayLife REIT’s share price increased by 10.4% – from $3.76 to $4.15. More impressive is that ParkwayLife REIT has already easily recovered its losses from COVID-19, and is in fact 23.4% higher in the year-to-date 2020.
Read Also: S-REIT Report Card: Here’s How Singapore REITs Performed In Third Quarter 2020
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