SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Optimism took hold of local investors on Friday (April 16) to allow the market to inch up and end a choppy week on a positive note.
While buying levels were modest, the Straits Times Index (STI) managed to eke out a rise of 16.99 points or 0.53 per cent to 3,201.76, culminating in a 0.5 per cent advance over the week.
There were 1.57 billion shares worth $1.27 billion traded with gainers beating losers 282 to 183.
The STI's star was Singtel, up 4.9 per cent to a nine-month high of $2.55 on turnover of 91.4 million.
Citi said on Thursday that it had started a "positive catalyst watch" on the stock, saying that strategic changes could be announced when new chief executive Yuen Kuan Moon provides guidance as early as next month, when the telco announces its results.
Bloomberg said Mr Yuen could consider various options to boost earnings such as selling loss-making units, spinning off some infrastructure assets and creating value in underappreciated assets such as information technology firm NCS.
The worst index performer was Sembcorp Industries, after having risen 3.7 per cent on Thursday. Its shares fell 2.02 per cent to $1.94.
The bourses's most active was mm2 Asia following its rights issue, which raised nearly $54.7 million. Around 139.5 million shares changed hands with the stock adding 5.26 per cent to six cents.
Asian markets finished higher: the Nikkei 225 added 0.14 per cent; the Hang Seng put on 0.61 per cent, the Shanghai Composite advanced 0.81 per cent and Malaysia's KLCI rose a marginal 0.01 per cent.
This was following robust economic data out of the United States overnight which helped propel US benchmark indexes to records. Yields on benchmark 10-year Treasuries declined.
Record highs on Wall Street buoyed investors down under and sent the ASX 200 up to its highest close in 14 months
China also reported that its economy expanded at its fastest pace in record in the first quarter, recovering sharply from its Covid-hit period last year.
