SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Singapore shares closed higher, tracking the better showing on Wall Street, with the Straits Times Index (STI) rising 0.65 per cent to 3,107.62 points on Tuesday (Aug 24).
Gainers beat losers 291 to 187 on the broader market, with 1.22 billion securities traded that had a total market value of $1.1 billion.
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding closed 8.11 per cent higher at $1.60, reaching a 52-week peak and emerging as the best STI performer on Tuesday, on news that the world's third-largest container port, Ningbo in China, has resumed operations.
The counter was also the top traded stock, with more than 112 million shares having changed hands. The China-based shipbuilder reported record-high orders worth US$6.67 billion (S$9 billion) for 112 vessels secured as at early August.
At the bottom was Genting Singapore, as the likelihood of it getting a licence to operate an integrated resort with a gaming element in Yokohama fell after an anti-casino campaigner won the mayoral election in the Japanese city on Aug 22. This prompted some analysts to downgrade the stock.
The gaming counter dropped another 1.26 per cent to $0.785.
Other Asian markets have also rallied. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.87 per cent. The Shanghai Composite Index surged 1.07 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed 2.46 per cent higher.
South Korea's Kospi soared 1.56 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index climbed 2.03 per cent.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.17 per cent higher.
"The overall trend remains bullish-biased, as suggested by the consecutive higher highs and higher lows formed over the past few months," DailyFX strategist Margaret Yang said in a note referring to the Australian benchmark.
Mr Steven Daghlian, a market analyst at CommSec, said that even with talks of reopening, the market is going to be cautious as Covid-19 continues to spread.
- Additional reporting by Reuters
