STI rises 0.6% as banking shares make strong gains amid mixed Asia markets

SINGAPORE - Singapore stocks were close to a record high on the morning of Dec 5, but eased by the close.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 22.74 points or 0.6 per cent to 3,822.68. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 280 to 244 after 1.1 billion securities worth $1.4 billion changed hands.

Earlier in the day, the STI rose to 3,842.08, putting it on pace to break the last record high of 3,906.16 in 2007. At the close, the top gainer on the STI was Hongkong Land, which gained 4 per cent or 18 US cents to US$4.69.

The real estate group is reportedly considering selling its closely held property developer arm MCL Land at a premium to its book value of $1.1 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg said on Dec 5.

Meanwhile, DFI Retail Group was the biggest decliner, falling 3.9 per cent or 10 US cents to US$2.44.

The three local banks were a sea of green. DBS was up 1 per cent or 44 cents to $44.26, UOB climbed 1.4 per cent or 50 cents to $37.15, while OCBC rose 0.4 per cent or 7 cents to $16.37.

In economic data released on Dec 5, Singapore’s retail sales grew 2.2 per cent year on year in October, picking up from the 1.9 per cent growth recorded in September.

“Notably, retail sales excluding cars had been falling year on year for four consecutive months prior to the October turnaround, so the question is whether this positive trend would sustain,” said Ms Selena Ling, chief economist at OCBC.

Elsewhere in the region, key indexes ended mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.9 per cent, and South Korea’s Kospi Composite was down 0.9 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.3 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 0.1 per cent.

THE BUSINESS TIMES