Singapore stocks end last trading day of 2023 in the black; STI up 0.8%

SINGAPORE – The mini rally over recent days raised hopes that 2023 would be seen off with a flourish, but it all fell a little flat on Dec 29 despite another day of robust gains.

The 1.4 per cent surge on Dec 28 set the stage for a rousing finish, and investors obliged on Friday by driving the Straits Times Index (STI) up 0.8 per cent, or 25.87 points, to 3,240.27 – but still 0.3 per cent, or 11.05 points, shy of the close in 2022.

Gainers outpaced losers 370 to 202 with 1.4 billion shares worth $1.2 billion traded.

The increase here came after another positive night on Wall Street that left the S&P 500 poised for its longest weekly winning streak in nearly 20 years. Indeed, S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq are all set for their ninth consecutive weekly gain.

The optimism there did not translate across the region, where bourses had lacklustre results.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index inched up 0.02 per cent, while the Bursa Malaysia and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo each shed 0.2 per cent and the ASX 200 in Australia fell 0.3 per cent, but was still up 8 per cent for the year.

“2023 (was) marked by economic and financial upheavals. However, robust growth in real spending played a crucial role in maintaining a relatively tight labour market, defying earlier predictions,” said SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes on Dec 29.

Mr Innes added that recent developments relating to monetary policy and labour markets mean that investors would do well to “approach recession predictions for 2024 with caution”.

Jardine Cycle and Carriage was STI’s top gainer, adding 2.2 per cent to $29.76.

The local lenders were also among the top gainers: DBS Bank added 1.1 per cent to $33.41; OCBC Bank rose 0.6 per cent to $13; and UOB gained 0.3 per cent to $28.45.

17Live was one of the top losers, down 5.5 per cent to $1.55.

THE BUSINESS TIMES