Singapore stocks end higher, tracking regional gains
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The benchmark STI rose 0.4 per cent or 12.28 points to 3,348.87.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Tan Nai Lun
SINGAPORE - Stocks in Singapore ended higher on June 3, tracking gains in the region.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.4 per cent or 12.28 points to 3,348.87. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 345 to 237, after 1.39 billion securities worth $1.43 billion changed hands.
The Nikkei 225 rose 1.1 per cent, the Hang Seng Index gained 1.8 per cent, the Kospi Composite Index was up 1.7 per cent, and Indonesia’s IDX Composite ended 0.9 per cent higher.
Mr Yeap Jun Rong, market analyst at IG, noted that a late-night bounce in Wall Street last week had caught the bears by surprise and put a halt to the recent bout of profit-taking in major US indexes. This set Asia equities up for a positive session.
Furthermore, market participants also found some comfort that the US personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data did not trigger much inflation surprise, he said.
US headline and core PCE price indexes both matched expectations on a year-on-year basis, which offered some conviction that inflation is on track for further softening, Mr Yeap added.
On the STI, DFI Retail Group was the biggest gainer, rising 7.1 per cent or 13 US cents to US$1.97.
The biggest decliner was Genting Singapore, which fell 1.1 per cent or one cent to 90 cents.
The three local banks ended higher on June 3. DBS Bank gained 0.2 per cent or eight cents to $36.07, OCBC Bank was up 0.3 per cent or four cents to $14.55, while UOB gained 0.3 per cent or nine cents to $30.88. THE BUSINESS TIMES
