Singapore shares gain on robust earnings reports, bucking regional declines
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Across the broader market, losers beat gainers 283 to 238.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Megan Cheah
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SINGAPORE – A range of robust corporate reports prompted investors to send local shares higher on May 15 despite red ink across much of the region.
The optimistic mood drove the Straits Times Index (STI) up 0.5 per cent, or 20.89 points, to 3,891.94, but losers outpaced gainers 283 to 238 on trade of 1.4 billion securities worth $1.5 billion.
It was different elsewhere. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.8 per cent, the Kospi in South Korea fell 0.7 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 1 per cent and Malaysian shares retreated 0.7 per cent.
Australian stocks bucked the trend, rising 0.2 per cent, their seventh consecutive day of gains.
Wall Street was mixed overnight.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1 per cent, Nasdaq added 0.7 per cent while the Dow lost 0.2 per cent.
The S&P 500 has turned positive for the year for the first time since February, having rallied 18 per cent from its low point in April when investors panicked over tariffs.
The STI’s largest gainer was ST Engineering, up 1.9 per cent to $7.33, as the shares continued to recoup losses from a low on May 13.
Genting Singapore was the biggest loser, down 2.7 per cent to 71.5 cents. This comes after the firm announced that chief executive Tan Hee Teck will retire on May 31. He will also step down as chairman and CEO of Resorts World Sentosa.
The group reported that net profit after taxation tumbled 41 per cent to $145 million in the first quarter ended March 31.
Outside the STI, private cord blood bank Cordlife Group jumped 54.8 per cent to 24 cents after Thai-listed Medeze Group launched a partial offer for a 10 per cent stake at a price of 25 cents a share.
All three local banks gained ground. DBS Bank climbed 1.9 per cent to $45.10, OCBC Bank was up 0.4 per cent to $16.24, and UOB rose 0.6 per cent to $35.49. THE BUSINESS TIMES
