S’pore shares end higher, with CapitaLand Investment the biggest gainer, bucking trend in region
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The Straits Times Index rose 0.5 per cent or 17.26 points to 3,480.34.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
Navene Elangovan
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SINGAPORE - Singapore shares closed higher on Sept 3 even as most regional indexes ended in the red. The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.5 per cent or 17.26 points to 3,480.34. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 302 to 226, after 1.05 billion shares worth $1.04 billion were traded.
The biggest gainer on the STI was real estate investment manager CapitaLand Investment (CLI), which climbed 3.35 per cent or nine cents to $2.78. The counter rose after CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust announced a proposed deal to purchase a 50 per cent interest in retail mall Ion Orchard
Meanwhile, several real estate investment trusts (Reits) rounded up the bottom of the index.
CapitaLand Ascendas Reit had the biggest decline in the STI. The counter slid 2.1 per cent or six cents to $2.82. Units of Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust fell 1.5 per cent or two cents to finish at $1.35.
Despite their performance, Reits were among the sectors that performed well in August along with real estate and healthcare, said Mr Paul Chew, an analyst at Phillip Securities Research. With the potential for six to seven rate cuts in the next 18 months, there is further upside for Reits, he added.
Integrated resort developer Genting Singapore was the most actively traded counter by volume on Sept 3, with 49.2 million shares worth $40.8 million changing hands. The counter climbed 1.2 per cent or one cent to close at 83 cents.
Across the region, most markets were in the red.
Australia’s ASX 200 fell 0.1 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped by 0.04 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.6 per cent, amid the country’s August inflation figures falling to their lowest in more than three years. THE BUSINESS TIMES
