Global markets appeared to swoon to the old adage of “Sell in May and go away” at April’s close. The carnage was widespread. In the West, for the year, the Nasdaq index was down 21% and the S&P index down 13.86%.
In the East, the Hang Seng Index managed a 4% pop on the last day of April, which reduced the pain to a decline of just under 10% for the year. Of course, this has helped masked the peak-to-trough fall so far of 65% for the Hang Seng Tech Index as of April 29, worse than the 50% plunge suffered by Cathie Woods’ Ark Innovation ETF.
Meanwhile, Singapore’s Straits Times Index resolutely stays 7% above water, with support from the macro themes of rising rates (benefitting the three banks); economic and travel reopening (benefitting the Covid recovery sectors); and a stronger focus on ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) amid a flurry of corporate activities (from sustainable energy to M&A). All in, the STI continues to benefit from the “#RotationToReality” theme flagged by this column since it started last September, underpinned by Singapore’s calm port in the face of global storms.
