Singapore shares end week in the black, STI up 0.5%

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Investors fired up by gains on Wall Street overnight lifted the local market on Friday (March 26) and allowed the bourse to finish a choppy week on a positive note.

The more optimistic mood sent the benchmark Straits Times Index up 0.5 per cent or 16.24 points to 3,157.95 with gainers easily outnumbering decliners 320 to 171 on trade of 1.96 billion shares worth $1.47 billion.

Markets across the region also reflected upbeat investor sentiment. The Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng Index each gained 1.6 per cent, while the KLCI rose 0.2 per cent. The Jakarta Composite Index added 1.2 per cent, while the Kospi advanced 1.1 per cent.

"Asian shares bounced back from a three-month low on Friday," said Mr Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at Axi.

"Thanks to a late-day rally on Wall Street, optimism about global economic recovery was overshadowed by rising tensions between the West and China most of this week."

Jardine Cycle and Carriage was the top gainer on the local bourse, rising 0.9 per cent to $22.66.

Two of the three lenders were also among the biggest gainers. OCBC advanced 1.6 per cent to $11.80 while DBS added 0.3 per cent to $28.59.

UOB, meanwhile, finished the day in the red, falling 0.7 per cent to $25.68.

On the other end of the spectrum, Jardine Strategic Holdings was the biggest loser, falling 0.7 per cent to close at US$33.27.

Aviation-related counters also booked declines on Friday. Singapore Airlines lost 0.9 per cent to $5.54 while Sats retreated 2.5 per cent to $4.31.

Tech names were also among the day's biggest losers: Venture Corporation fell 0.5 per cent to $19.94, while iFast Corporation slipped 1.3 per cent to $5.94.

Spackman Entertainment Group was the most heavily traded counter, with 260.2 million shares having changed hands over the course of the day. The stock closed at 0.7 cents, up 40 per cent.