Singapore stocks end higher ahead of US jobs report; STI up 0.3%

SINGAPORE – Local shares defied the gathering investor gloom over a possible escalation of hostilities in the Middle East to inch north on Oct 4 ahead of US jobs data for September.

The Straits Times Index (STI) climbed 0.3 per cent or 11.7 points to 3,589.13 with gainers outnumbering losers 351 to 225 across the broader market on trade of 1.7 billion securities worth $1.5 billion.

Regional indexes also mostly rose. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 2.8 per cent, the Kospi in South Korea added 0.3 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up 0.2 per cent.

Malaysian shares went the other way, falling 0.7 per cent, as did the ASX 200 in Australia, which closed 0.7 per cent lower, led by mining declines.

Despite these movements, SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said that risk-averse traders are “hesitant to make bold moves”.

“Asian stocks and bonds are stuck to narrow ranges, awaiting the US jobs data (on Oct 4) to light a fire under interest rate expectations,” he said.

Wall Street signalled its caution overnight, with indexes faltering as investors felt caught between fears of a broader conflict in the Middle East and stronger signs that the US economy is going well.

The uncertainty left the Dow industrials down 0.4 per cent while the S&P 500 fell 0.17 per cent and the Nasdaq was off 0.04 per cent.

Back home, offshore and marine player Seatrium led gains on the STI, surging 12.3 per cent to $1.99.

This came after the company announced on Oct 3 that chief executive Chris Ong had been granted 2.2 million group shares on May 31 under its performance and restricted share plans.

Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust was the STI laggard, losing 1.3 per cent to $1.51.

The trio of local banks finished mixed. DBS Bank was up 0.5 per cent to $38.04 and UOB gained 0.5 per cent to $31.86, but OCBC Bank slipped 0.2 per cent to $14.89.

THE BUSINESS TIMES