China trade stats give S'pore shares an uplift

There wasn't much for traders to latch on to yesterday but better-than-expected China trade data helped to turbo drive Singapore shares.

The Straits Times Index shot up 67.32 points or 2.62 per cent to 2,634.57 on trade of 1.70 billion shares worth $1.55 billion with gainers trumping losers 367 to 122.

Some of the losers included Dairy Farm International, down 1.63 per cent to US$4.83, and Singapore Exchange, off 1.73 per cent to $9.67.

The best STI performer was Mapletree Commercial Trust, up 6.63 per cent to $1.77, while the most active was Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, which surged 5.32 per cent to 99 cents. Singtel was also active, gaining 2.92 per cent to $2.82.

The banks outpaced the benchmark. DBS Bank rose 3.01 per cent to $19.86, UOB gained 2.58 per cent to $20.70 and OCBC Bank reversed Monday's dip, up 2.24 per cent to $9.12.

The catalyst was China's trade data. Exports in March fell 6.6 per cent compared with the same month last year, far better than the 14 per cent plunge forecast.

Mr Stephen Innes, AxiCorp's chief global markets strategist, noted that the better figures were due to backlogged export data, which likely skewed the numbers.

Sentiment in Asia was also lifted by news that critical states in the United States are working to develop reopening protocols, said Oanda Asia-Pacific senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley. That helped benchmarks in Asia extend gains, with China, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong and South Korea ending higher.

Tokyo closed up more than 3.1 per cent to a one-month high after gains in US stock index futures in late trading ahead of earnings reports from major American banks.

Shanghai ended 1.6 per cent higher. Hong Kong returned from a four-day break to add 0.56 per cent.

Sydney was up 1.9 per cent despite the forecast doubling of Australia's unemployment rate to 10 per cent in the second quarter, and a survey showing record-low business confidence.

The Australian dollar has also rallied from last month's 18-year lows with the slowdown in new coronavirus infections and signs of returning industrial activity in China, said Mr Innes.

Shares in Indonesia closed up 1.8 per cent. Indonesia's central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged on Tuesday, but cut the amount of cash banks are required to keep in reserve to inject liquidity into the financial system.