Singapore stocks close higher tracking US gains, STI up 0.6%

SINGAPORE – Local investors liked what they saw on a buoyant Wall Street overnight and sent shares higher on March 13.

The three key indexes in New York all recorded solid gains – the S&P 500 closing at yet another record level – despite inflation data coming in slightly higher than expected. The feeling among investors there is that rate cuts still remain on the agenda in the coming months.

“Despite another strong report in February, investors sense the Federal Reserve is looking for any reason or excuse to cut rates this election year,” said Mr Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

He noted that the unrounded core inflation numbers were far from the market’s worst-case fears, which injected a dose of relief that sent stocks rallying.

Investors here certainly agreed with that sentiment, sending the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) up 0.6 per cent, or 19.25 points, to 3,160.72. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 282 to 268 after 1.6 billion shares worth $1.3 billion changed hands.

Markets elsewhere in the region ended mixed. Stocks in Australia and South Korea closed higher, but key indexes in Japan, Hong Kong and Shanghai slipped between 0.1 per cent and 0.4 per cent.

Singtel led the STI gainers, closing 3.8 per cent higher at $2.48 after an earlier trading halt was called amid reports that it was looking to sell Australian unit Optus for A$16 billion (S$14 billion). The telco clarified that there was “no impending deal” to offload Optus for the reported sum.

Meanwhile, Emperador continued its losing streak, slipping 4.2 per cent to 46 cents to end at the bottom of the index performance table.

Seatrium was the most actively traded by volume, with 472.2 million shares changing hands. The counter rose 2.2 per cent to 9.4 cents, after announcing that it has received in-principle approval from the Singapore Exchange for its 20:1 proposed share consolidation. THE BUSINESS TIMES