STI closes week on higher ground amid mixed regional showing

A rally on Wall Street overnight was enough to offset regional gloom and leave local shares higher yesterday. The optimistic mood sent the Straits Times Index (STI) up 0.4 per cent, or 13.99 points, to 3,413.69 with gainers pipping losers 260 to 249 on trade of 1.61 billion shares worth $1.38 billion.

Regional indices were mixed: Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 0.1 per cent; the Kospi in South Korea edged up 0.01 per cent and the Kuala Lumpur Composite rose 0.3 per cent. The red column included the Hang Seng in Hong Kong, down 2.5 per cent, and the Jakarta Composite, off by 0.7 per cent.

Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley noted that Asian equities were mixed as risk was "rightly sapping the animal spirits". "Asian equities are having a mixed day once again, despite another sharp rally in New York overnight. The reasoning behind the rally in New York is tenuous, most especially, the EU declining to sanction Russian energy imports," he added.

The local banks were also mixed, with DBS Bank shedding 0.1 per cent to close at $35.60 while OCBC Bank gained 0.4 per cent to $12.35 and UOB climbed 0.4 per cent to $32.15. Hongkong Land was the top performer on the STI, rising 2.8 per cent to US$5.08. Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust was at the bottom of the table, falling 1.4 per cent to $1.45.

Olam Group was heavily traded, rising 3.4 per cent to $1.83. The company said yesterday it would sell a 35.4 per cent stake in Olam Agri Holdings to the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company for US$1.2 billion (S$1.6 billion). This comes after the company announced on Thursday that it would delay the initial public offering of its food ingredients unit due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Singtel was heavily traded after its subsidiary Singapore Telecom International monetised a 1.6 per cent stake in telecoms firm Airtel Africa through a market placement that raised $150 million.