Singapore shares end higher as Wall Street rebounds

Local investors galvanised by Wall Street's surprising overnight rebound sent shares up yesterday.

News that sanctions imposed on Russia were not as strong as markets had feared may also have played a part in the market rally.

Whatever the ultimate driver, the touch of optimism sent the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) up 0.6 per cent or 18.41 points to 3,294.47, after surging as much as 1.7 per cent at the open.

Gainers widely outpaced losers 327 to 159 after 1.5 billion shares worth $2.3 billion changed hands.

With the exception of Hong Kong, where shares fell 0.6 per cent despite a strong start, regional markets were up as well, with indexes in Japan, South Korea and Australia closing between 0.1 per cent and 2 per cent higher. But most were well down for the week.

But even as Western nations stopped short of disconnecting Russia from the Swift banking system or targeting its oil and gas exports, markets are not in "investing mode quite yet", noted SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes. "It feels like while markets believe the worst-case scenario has been sidestepped for now in terms of sanctions on Russia, investors are likely to wait to see how events play out over the weekend before sizing up positions."

Sembcorp Industries was the top STI performer for a second day, finishing 4.5 per cent up at $2.56. Singtel, which gained 2.8 per cent to $2.60, and Venture Corp, up 2.7 per cent to $17.68, were not far behind.

Singapore Airlines also saw big gains after the flag carrier registered its first quarterly profit since the onset of the pandemic. The stock rose 2.6 per cent to close at $5.07.

The banks, which sustained 4.5 per cent to 5 per cent losses on Thursday, had a mixed day yesterday: While DBS closed up 0.6 per cent, OCBC Bank slid 1.3 per cent and UOB dipped 0.6 per cent.

Transport giant ComfortDelGro was the top STI decliner, shedding 1.4 per cent to $1.42.