STI ends 1.2% higher on upbeat mood across region, ahead of national Budget
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The Straits Times Index advanced 37.62 points or 1.2 per cent to 3,176.69.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Anita Gabriel
SINGAPORE – Local shares rode a wave of optimism across the region to record robust gains on Feb 15 – a day ahead of the Budget.
Investors shrugged off the previous day’s dampener – hot and sticky January inflation in the United States – as a one-off aberration.
The upbeat mood sent the Straits Times Index (STI) up 37.62 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 3,176.69, following gains on Wall Street. In the wider market, gainers outpaced losers 312 to 257 on trade of 1.65 billion securities worth $1.36 billion.
Domestic factors played a part. Singapore’s gross domestic product expansion for the final quarter of 2023 was revised downwards, but Nomura Global Markets Research said Singapore’s growth remains on an “improving path”.
Nomura has forecast growth of 3 per cent in 2024 – the upper end of the official range – underpinned by a turnaround in manufacturing that should lift the services sector.
There were several exuberant spots across the region. The standout was Taiwan, whose key index finished at a record high after adding 3 per cent, thanks to surging tech stocks.
The same tech-led wave also pushed Japan’s Nikkei 225 1.2 per cent higher.
Indonesian stocks raced to their highest in over a month after the country’s presidential election ended months of uncertainty.
Most other key regional gauges rose except for South Korea.
The day’s gains here were led by the banks. DBS Bank rose 2.3 per cent to $33.33, OCBC Bank was up 1.3 per cent at $13.12, while UOB advanced 1.6 per cent to $28.76.
Keppel Pacific Oak US Reit was hammered, falling nearly 40 per cent to 15.1 US cents after the trust’s manager said it was suspending distributions to provide “significantly more capital” over the next two years.
Far East Hospitality Trust gained 0.8 per cent to 64 cents. DBS Group Research deemed the trust a key proxy to Singapore’s tourism recovery and has maintained a “buy” call and raised target price from 75 cents to 80 cents. THE BUSINESS TIMES
