SINGAPORE share prices opened lower on Thursday with the Straits Times Index (STI) down 0.03 points to 3,415.50 at 9.10 am, taking cues from the retreat in US markets, and ahead of the European Central Bank's meeting that will detail its quantitative easing measures.
Top losers in early trading include oil-related counters SIA, and Keppel Corp.
Some 77.5 million shares worth S$122 million changed hands, with gainers outnumbering losers 70 to 67.
SOMETIMES the movement of the Straits Times Index doesn't properly represent how the broad market performed at any given point in time. This is often when a few large cap components exert a lopsided influence on the index, thus giving the impression of a session that was either stronger or weaker than it actually was.
Wednesday's session however, was not one such occasion - the STI rose five points and stayed there for virtually the whole session, before weakening in the final 20 minutes. Its eventual nett loss of 6.58 points at 3,415.53 accurately suggested a session that was boring, weak and lacking in notable features - which it was. The advance-decline score excluding warrants was 210-229.
Five biggest Health Care Equipment & Services plays average 8% YTD gain
The five largest capitalised Health Care Equipment & Services stocks listed on SGX are IHH Healthcare Bhd, Raffles Medical Group, Biosensors International Group, Religare Health Trust, and TalkMed Group.
These five stocks have averaged a 7.6% price gain in the year-to-date and maintain an average dividend yield of 2.9%.
Three of these stocks have been listed in recent years – IHH Healthcare Bhd and Religare Health Trust in 2012, and TalkMed Group in 2014. These three stocks have averaged a 43% gain from their first day close.
Modern day health care stocks span a wide range of health-related businesses – from the traditional plays of hospitals and clinics to medical supplies and hit-tech medical equipment to pharmaceuticals including western and traditional Chinese medicines.
Singapore Exchange (SGX) lists almost 30 stocks that represent the Healthcare sector. Among the group are 19 Health Care Equipment & Services stocks as categorised by the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) with a combined market capitalisation of S$23.8 billion. The five largest capitalised stocks in this group of 19 stocks have averaged a price gain of 7.6% in the year thus far and maintain a dividend yield of 2.9%. These five stocks are IHH Healthcare Berhad, Raffles Medical Group, Biosensors International Group, Religare Health Trust, and TalkMed Group. Three of these stocks have been listed in recent years – IHH Healthcare Bhd and Religare Health Trust in 2012, and TalkMed Group in 2014. As detailed in the table below, these three stocks have averaged a 43.3% gain from their first day close.
