2020 Q1: The Great Market Roller‑Coaster
When the first quarter of 2020 rolled in, it hit the stock market like a bad punchline. The spread of Covid‑19 turned what was supposed to be smooth sailing into a full‑scale freefall. Even the most respected charts on Wall Street got rattled.
The Dow Jones Takes a Nose Dive
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) -85,628 pts: a shocking 23.2 % tumble. The index, built in 1896 and watched by every investor who has ever cared to check the news, simply went from “solid” to “really solid” in record time.
Singapore’s STI Isn’t Sitting Pretty Either
- Straits Times Index (STI) – fell a blistering 24.3 % in Q1. It’s the kind that makes you wish you’d started a savings account in rent‑free 1995.
- Currency side‑kick: the U.S. dollar surged 6.6 % against the Singapore dollar, adding a touch of foreign exchange chaos.
All of this happens at a moment when the U.S. market was already looking rickety, down 3.2 percent as the piece was written. To be honest, you might find the Straits Times Index falling even lower by the time you read the last line—just a reminder that the markets are still, well, fairly unstable.
Bottom Line: If Markets Were a Party
Imagine a great party that goes wrong. The DJ plays a remix of catastrophe, the lights flicker, and everyone starts leaving before even the first bouquet arrives. That’s how the markets felt in Q1 2020—an unplanned, chaotic, and frankly unforgettable plunge.
How much STI stocks have fallen in 2020
Singapore’s STI Stock‑Slam: 30 Big Players in the Red (and Big)
Strap in – the STI (Straits Times Index) has taken a nosedive. Think of it as a neighbourhood bake‑sale that suddenly drops the price on the last slice. In 2020, the index fell by a whopping 24.3 %. On the first of April alone it slid another 1.7 % – and the trend doesn’t look to stop anytime soon. The culprit? Overnight panic in the U.S. markets is still shaking things down in Singapore.
When the Big Guy Falls, the Small Ones Follow
Below is a snapshot of how each of the 30 MDR (Most Dynamic “RIet”) stocks fared through the first quarter of 2020 and right up to 1st April. Spoiler alert: most ended up bleeding red.
- 1. Ascendas REIT –5 %
- 2. CapitaLand Commercial Trust –27 %
- 3. CapitaLand –26 %
- 4. CapitaLand Mall Trust –30 %
- 5. City Development –35 %
- 6. ComfortDelGro –38 %
- 7. DairyFarm –22 %
- 8. DBS –30 %
- 9. Genting Singapore –26 %
- 10. HongKongLand –33 %
- 11. Jardine C&C –36 %
- 12. Jardine Matheson Holdings –12 %
- 13. Jardine Strategic Holdings –28 %
- 14. Keppel Corp –22 %
- 15. Mapletree Commercial Trust –27 %
- 16. Mapletree Logistics Trust –10 %
- 17. OCBC Bank –23 %
- 18. SATS –40 %
- 19. SembCorp Industries –33 %
- 20. SGX +3 % (the one bright spot)
- 21. SIA –38 %
- 22. SingTel –25 %
- 23. SPH –18 %
- 24. ST Engineering –23 %
- 25. ThaiBev –33 %
- 26. UOB –28 %
- 27. UOL –21 %
- 28. Venture –19 %
- 29. Wilmar International –23 %
- 30. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding –25 %
Key Takeaway
Picture this: you’re heading out for one of Singapore’s famed “Big Three” espresso cafés, and the menu suddenly drops every price by a half. That’s how the STI is looking—luxury stocks, enterprise giants, even the king‑pin Singapore Airlines, all frowning down a steep slide.
The Upshot
- Majority of the STI’s massive players are stitching up losses.
- Some are plunging as deep as 40 % – not cute.
- The only bright spot is SGX itself, ticking up a modest 3 %.
As the global market keeps churning, keep your eyes peeled. The future may bring a sharp rebound, or it may just be another slow creep toward calmer waters. Either way, it’s a heck of a ride.
5 worst performing STI stocks in 2020 so far
Quarter‑1 2020 Stock Shake‑Up
Here’s a quick rundown of the biggest hits on the Paris Stock Exchange in Q1. The numbers are gut‑punching, and the top casualties? Two airlines that’ve taken a hard blow from the pandemic.
- SATS – ↓40%
- SIA – ↓38%
- ComfortDelGro – ↓38%
- Jardine C&C – ↓36%
- City Development – ↓35%
Why the Aviation Giants Took the Biggest Hit
It’s almost too obvious. Airlines feel the brunt of global lockdowns and strict social‑distancing rules. When South China Airlines (SIA) announced that 96 % of its capacity was slashed, it also had to raise fresh capital: a massive $8.8 billion rights issue, covering both shares and bonds.
Ground‑Earnings: ComfortDelGro and Jardine
ComfortDelGro, a key player in Singapore’s transportation arena and one of the world’s biggest land‑transport firms, isn’t immune either. With more and more workers scaling into home offices, the company’s revenue got slashed, and the pandemic’s ripple effect was hard to dodge.
Jardine C&C, a Southeast Asian conglomerate with a solid automotive stake, felt the squeeze too. The auto market’s slowdown helped explain how the pandemic banged on its door.
The Hotel‑Heavy City Development
City Development’s 26 % exposure to hotels and 28 % to investment properties left it especially vulnerable. When travel stopped buzzing, those assets took a severe hit, making it a top performer in the “worst‑hit” ranking.
In short, the pandemic’s impact on travel and hospitality shows up in the numbers. The companies that rely heavily on human presence feel the tremor loudest.
5 best performing STI stocks in 2020 so far
2020 STI Stock Roller‑Coaster: The Wild Ride of the Top Five
One Surfer Stays on the Crest
Out of the five jacked‑up tickers, only SGX kept a positive streak at +3%. That’s a golden moment, especially when another STI darlings nosedive -40% in the same season.
Revenue Jills in the Red
The next two baggers are a second‑hand rock‑and‑roll: Ascendas REIT with -5% and Mapletree Logistics Trust with -10%. Both are industrial REITs, so maybe the warehouses are doing the heavy lifting better than the hotels or retail outlets, which are still scraping together bricks (and coffee). Even the commercial REITs have been advised to let the crew hop off the office chairs and go remote. That’s high‑effort and low‑profit, apparently.
The Versatile Connoisseurs (Jardine)
Enter Jardine Matheson Holdings, a conglomerate that’s like a Swiss Army knife: ships, farms, motoring, and restaurants… all under one banner of -12%. The sideways banner includes a 85% stake in Jardine Strategic Holdings, which has suffered a -22% drop YTD.
- Jardine Strategic owns a -33% stake in HongKongLand
- We can’t forget the -22% drop in DairyFarm
- And the most dramatic -36% slump in Jardine C&C
- Oh, the hospitality sector takes a hit with Mandarin Oriental swinging -26%
- Kissing foreign shores, Astra drops -46% in Indonesia
The News Feeder (SPH)
Last but not least, SPH finishes the roster at -18%. Its world is a slightly swirling mess of media and property. But as pandemic‑time coffee and news have all critics looking for juicy content, the company is sitting on a solid seat that might have kept it from falling off the wagon.
Why the Huh‑Lookin’ Market?
SGX’s triumph could be a hint that traders are dust‑picking more and more. Fresh buys are always good for the exchange, and in a world that’s gone to new heights of hight it’s a bright spot.
Every ticker’s story sings a song: from the step–up of a real‑estate cruiser to the belly‑laughing revenue flop of a hospitality juggernaut. The stock ticker roller‑coaster is still in the fast‑lane of headlines, and definitely more than just a number tallied in sheets.
Should we invest now?
When to Grab Those Stocks? It’s Not as Simple as a Coin Flip
Gather ’round, folks—expert investors might as well have a crystal ball that’s on day‑dream vacation. No one can say for sure the perfect moment to buy into the market.
All the Roadblocks Ahead
- 2020 still feels like a maze with more twists than a rollercoaster.
- Lots of folks are worried stocks might dive into a deeper abyss over the next few quarters.
- But then, the STI’s trading at a price that hasn’t crossed this line since 2009. Time to think, “Maybe, just maybe, I should put more of my dough where it begs for a good bite.”
Don’t Dump All Your Cash in One Go
Instead of diving in full‑speed, take a chill, calculated approach.
- If you buy at a price that feels low, you’re setting yourself up for later rounds when prices dip further and the bargain shrinks.
- If the market pops up, you’re already looking at a profit cushion and can keep buying as the market gets back on track.
Bottomline
Think of buying stock like sneaking a sweet cake into a dessert box—take a handful now, wait for the edges to soften, then fill more as the flavors do. Keep looking out for fresh news on the pandemic, and stay ready to adjust your strategy.
