But some traders warn that the rally could go into reverse suddenly
By
Goh Eng Yeow
THERE was no stopping investors on Thursday as they kept up their stampede into stocks, convinced that they were finally putting the two-year global financial crisis nightmare behind them.
Now it's property counters
BANKS gave way to property counters on Thursday as the extraordinary share market rally stayed in high gear.
The property sector's big guns rocketed and helped the market jump almost 63 points to 2,241.6.
The bout of exuberance was triggered in part by leaks of the results of the US government's stress tests, suggesting that 19 giant American lenders might be healthier than previously thought.
Add that to the better-than-expected results from regional lenders such as United Overseas Bank (UOB), OCBC and Standard Chartered and you have the ingredients for a full-blown buying spree.
Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) sliced through the 2,200 level for the first time in seven months to end 62.57 points higher at 2,241.6.
Overall market volume was even more striking. It hit 4.01 billion shares worth $3.26 billion - the first time volume had passed four billion shares since Oct 8, 2007.
'The rally is too good to waste. Some funds hurried to buy stocks in case they missed the rally,' said a Hong Kong- based fund manager.
Not everyone is convinced, though, with some asking whether this is a suckers' rally or the real deal.
One trader noted that even though the STI had jumped 54 per cent in the past two months, Asian funds investing in Singapore shares have failed to attract any interest from foreign investors.
According to a recent Citigroup study, these funds showed a net outflow of US$40.1 million (S$59 million) in March and US$15.1 million last month.
Instead, what triggered the big surge in Asian market shares was the massive short-covering of regional lenders such as UOB and OCBC by traders who were betting that both banks would follow in DBS Bank's footsteps and make a cash-call when they released their first-quarter results.
