Singapore stocks rise amid mixed Asian performance; STI up 0.6%

SINGAPORE - Shares on the Singapore bourse closed higher on Feb 27 amid mixed regional trading. The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.6 per cent or 30.69 points to finish at 4,995.07.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding led the gainers on Singapore’s blue-chip index, rising 10.7 per cent to end at $4.34.

The worst performer among STI constituents was manufacturing company Venture Corporation, falling 7.5 per cent to close at $15.63.

Meanwhile, the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index lost 0.8 per cent, or 12.59 points, to 1,505.20.

Within the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index, Yangzijiang Maritime was the top gainer, rising 7.8 per cent to finish at 62.5 cents, while PropNex led losses, shedding 8.5 per cent to end the session at $2.04.

AEM Holdings surged as much as 21 per cent to $2.99 in the morning before closing at $2.90, up 17.4 per cent from the previous day. About 22.2 million shares changed hands.

Across the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 349 to 237, after two billion securities worth $3.2 billion changed hands.

The three local banks ended mixed. OCBC Bank rose 0.4 per cent to close at $21.43, UOB was up 0.6 per cent to $36.97, while DBS Bank finished 0.1 per cent lower at $57.12.

Key regional indexes were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.2 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi was down 1 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 1.4 per cent.

Mr Eli Lee, chief investment strategist at the Bank of Singapore, wrote in a note on Feb 27: “Asia’s appeal to global investors is set to become more pronounced in the next few years, given compelling secular growth trends and its proposition as a viable diversification alternative for those with concentrated US dollar-based portfolios.”

THE BUSINESS TIMES