Bulls And Bears
S'pore stocks join regional peers in rally after US tech players shine
Gainers outpace losers 260 to 209 on local bourse * Japan's Nikkei 225 jumps 1.8%, is best performer in region * Jardine C&C leads STI on gains, rising 8.5% to $29.10
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Tay Peck Gek
The bullishness in regional stock markets rubbed off on local investors, who lifted the market yesterday after some lacklustre days.
The jolt of optimism sent the Straits Times Index (STI) up 14.42 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 3,335.09. Trade was a bit more robust as well with gainers outpacing losers 260 to 209 on turnover of 2.81 billion shares worth $1.6 billion.
The better showing by stock markets in the Asia-Pacific - with Japan's Nikkei 225 jumping 1.8 per cent, making it the best performer in the region - came as big American tech players reported strong financial results.
While much of Wall Street set a muted tone, the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged in after-hours trading after robust subscriber numbers were released by Meta, formerly Facebook, igniting interest.
Earlier the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2 per cent, as did the S&P 500.
The Australian market was another big winner, with the index up 1.3 per cent higher - its best day in three months - thanks to investors rushing into the big miners and energy companies.
Jardine Cycle & Carriage led the STI on gains thanks to its improved first-quarter performance. The automobile group's counter rose 8.5 per cent to $29.10.
Apac Realty, which owns ERA Realty Network here, continued to come under pressure, with the counter dropping another 7.8 per cent to 65.5 cents yesterday after sliding 11.8 per cent on Wednesday.
The 57-cent a share acquisition offer by majority investor Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia for each share that it does not already own sparked a sell-off in the property agency because the offer price is a 30.1 per cent discount from the last traded price before the takeover announcement.
The most active counter by volume was Sembcorp Marine, with a whopping 1.2 billion shares done against its monthly average of 3.4 billion over the last quarter.
Its turnover contributed nearly over 40 per cent of the day's trading volume. The stock closed down 17.6 per cent at 10.8 cents.
