Singapore shares ended the first trading day of the week in positive territory, edging up by 0.4 per cent to 2,538.61.
Advancers outnumbered decliners 251 to 191, with 2.38 billion securities worth $1.1 billion changing hands.
This came despite Singapore's core inflation slipping to a decade-low of minus 0.4 per cent, with the pace of its fall widening from minus 0.2 per cent in the month before. The authorities have kept their full-year forecast for both core and all-items inflation to remain subdued and range between zero and minus 1 per cent this year.
United Overseas Bank economist Barnabas Gan said the rate of deflation could taper off if Singapore's tourism industry sees some pickup following the recent easing of in-bound travel restrictions. However, he expects deflation pressures to persist for the rest of the year.
"The mix of falling domestic and tourism-led demand, coupled with low oil prices for the rest of 2020, are formidable headwinds against consumer prices," he added.
Gateway services provider Sats booked the biggest gains among the constituent stocks, closing 5.48 per cent higher at $3.08. Investors got active after the company reversed into the red with a loss of $43.7 million for its first quarter ended June, compared with a profit of $54.7 million a year ago.
Singapore Airlines, too, gained 1.1 per cent to close at $3.68, as investors were buoyed by news last Friday of the state reopening its borders to travellers from Brunei and New Zealand.
Singtel investors got active following news of the telco's partnership with Network for Electronic Transfers and Amazon Web Services to provide more cross-border digital-payment opportunities in South-east Asia. The counter gained 0.88 per cent to close at $2.30, with some 21.1 million shares traded.
Thai Beverage was both the biggest decliner and most actively traded stock, closing 2.42 per cent lower. Some 69.6 million shares changed hands.
Other decliners included real estate giant CapitaLand, which lost 0.72 per cent to close at $2.76, and Wilmar International, which closed 0.67 per cent down at $4.42.
Banks ended the day mixed. DBS Bank gained 0.29 per cent, OCBC fell 0.69 per cent, and UOB shed 0.35 per cent.
Elsewhere in Asia, Malaysia's KLCI slipped 0.54 per cent. Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.28 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.74 per cent.
