Singapore’s blue-chip gauge closes 0.3% higher

SINGAPORE – Local shares eked out a modest rise on Dec 27 after another session of modest trading.

The Straits Times Index (STI) inched up 0.3 per cent or 10.18 points to 3,771.63. Gainers outpaced losers 261 to 215 across the broader market amid festive season lethargy, with just 852.8 million shares worth $538.9 million transacted.

The result mirrored the flat session on Wall Street overnight, with traders looking for bargains among the dips.

“With the calendar year winding down and little in the way of tier-one economic data, the market is content mainly to drift until something shakes it from its slumber,” said SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up and down but ended with gains of 0.1 per cent while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both dipped 0.1 per cent.

Regional markets were mixed. Seoul’s Kospi fell 1 per cent and Hang Seng was down 0.04 per cent, but the Nikkei was up 1 per cent and Malaysian stocks put on 0.9 per cent.

Australian shares advanced 0.5 per cent amid light trade but were down 0.6 per cent for the week.

Technology solutions provider CSE Global fell 5.4 per cent to 43.5 cents after announcing its performance for the financial year ending Dec 31 may be affected by a lawsuit it intends to file in the US.

It warned that if it does not succeed in the suit or is unable to recover the full US$6 million (S$8.15 million) in dispute, there could be an impact on its financial results.

Singapore Post slid 1 per cent to 52 cents, capping an erratic trading week that began with a high-profile weekend firing of three senior executives, including group chief executive Vincent Phang.

The stock dived 11 per cent on Dec 23 but rebounded throughout the week, although it remains 7.1 per cent below the Dec 20 level.

THE BUSINESS TIMES