SINGAPORE share prices closed 3.23 per cent higher on Monday with investors' mood lifted after world leaders unveiled plans for a series of summits to tackle the ongoing financial crisis, dealers said.
The blue-chip Straits Times Index gained 60.71 points to 1,939.22. Volume traded totalled 1.1 billion shares worth S$1.14 billion and there were 272 rising issues, 224 losers and 838 were even.
Most blue chips closed higher but long-term worries about the likely backlash from the global financial crisis on the local economy are expected to cap investors' sentiments, dealers said.
'Hong Kong is leading us up and there's room to go a bit higher after the recent falls, but the market is still pretty quiet and I'm not sure how long the rebound can last,' a trader at a local brokerage told Dow Jones Newswires.
Hong Kong shares closed Monday 5.3 per cent higher.
Singapore Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said in parliament earlier Monday the economy was likely to see weak growth in the next few quarters due to the fallout from the financial crisis.
Singapore's economy is already in a technical recession, generally defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction in economic output.
Among local stocks, Singapore Airlines gained 18 cents to $12.56, Singapore Telecommunications was 11 cents higher at $2.61 and Neptune Orient Lines added seven cents to $1.57.
For the banks, DBS firmed four cents to $13.04, United Overseas Bank put on 84 cents to $15.60 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp added 28 cents to $6.38. -- AFP
