Singapore shares continue winning streak; STI up 0.7%
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The benchmark index reaches a high for a fourth consecutive trading day at 4,161.43.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
Navene Elangovan
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SINGAPORE – The winning streak continues apace for local shares, with the bourse up for the fourth straight day on July 17.
Investors clearly have the bit between their teeth, given yet another bumper close for the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI), this time rising 0.7 per cent or 29.18 points to 4,161.43.
Gainers left losers in the dust to the tune of 358 to 198 on trade of 1.9 billion securities worth $1.4 billion across the broader market.
DFI Retail Group led the STI winners, surging 4 per cent to US$3.12, while Thai Beverage was at the bottom of the table, down 1.1 per cent to 47 cents.
Singtel was the most active by volume, with 35.5 million shares traded. The counter, which was trading on a cum-dividend basis, gained 3 per cent to $4.17.
The STI’s rise reflected a positive session both on Wall Street and most regional markets after US President Donald Trump backtracked on reports that he was planning to fire Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
The two have clashed over the pace of interest rate cuts.
US shares fell early on but rebounded after Mr Trump’s reversal. The Dow Industrials added 0.5 per cent, the S&P 500 advanced 0.3 per cent, and the Nasdaq rose 0.3 per cent to close at its third straight record.
Regional bourses mostly rose. Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.6 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.2 per cent, and the ASX 200 in Australia gained 0.9 per cent for its best day in three weeks.
Market fluctuations showed that Mr Trump’s attempt to challenge the Fed’s independence was not welcome, said Mr Vishnu Varathan of Mizuho Securities.
While the news reports may have been an attempt by the administration to gauge how markets would react to Mr Powell’s removal, Mr Varathan warned that the “real danger” lies in Mr Trump viewing the market drop as acceptable, which could embolden him to make further attacks on the Fed. THE BUSINESS TIMES
