Singapore stocks close in the black; STI up 0.9%, led by Wilmar
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Wilmar International led the STI gains, rising 2.7 per cent to $3.09.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Megan Cheah
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SINGAPORE – More optimism on impending US interest rate cuts and encouraging earnings reports from local firms sent Singapore shares heading north on Aug 14.
The buoyant mood left the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) up 0.9 per cent or 27.71 points to 3,286.28 although losers pipped gainers 256 to 251 on solid trade of one billion shares worth $1.4 billion.
Agribusiness Wilmar International led the STI gains, rising 2.7 per cent to $3.09 after reporting a first-half net profit of US$579.6 million (S$762.3 million), up 5.2 per cent year on year.
STI constituent ST Engineering also rose, climbing 2.1 per cent to $4.37. The engineering technology group posted a 19.9 per cent year-on-year rise in first-half earnings to $336.5 million, from $280.6 million previously.
OCBC analysts noted that ST Engineering was well-positioned to ride on the aerospace and defence capital expenditure upcycle: “(Its) stock offers stability and growth potential. It is a quality name to accumulate on dips for the long-term investor’s portfolio.”
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, meanwhile, reversed Aug 13’s gains to fall 4 per cent to $2.62, but the local banking stocks were in the black: DBS Bank rose 1.4 per cent to $34.61; UOB added 0.9 per cent to $29.63; and OCBC Bank added 0.9 per cent to $13.95.
Singapore investors were heartened after Wall Street rallied overnight on better-than-expected inflation data that strengthened hopes that the Federal Reserve could start cutting interest rates in September.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 2.4 per cent on the back of a resurgent Magnificent Seven, the S&P 500 gained 1.7 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1 per cent.
Regional markets were mixed: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.4 per cent but South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.9 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended 0.6 per cent ahead and Malaysian shares inched up 0.2 per cent. Australian stocks trimmed early gains, but still closed 0.3 per cent higher. THE BUSINESS TIMES
