Bulls And Bears
STI up 0.84%, tracking Wall Street gains on stimulus hopes
• Singapore Airlines and banks among top performers • Asian markets mostly start week on positive note • Analyst expects turnover in Asia to fall as CNY holidays near
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Claudia Tan
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Singapore stocks tracked last Friday's Wall Street gains on expectations of a United States stimulus package.
The Straits Times Index (STI) ended yesterday at 2,931.40, up 0.84 per cent or 24.29 points. Losers outnumbered gainers 248 to 222, after 2.05 billion securities worth $1.25 billion changed hands.
Elsewhere in Asia, several key benchmark indices also rode tailwinds from hopes of a US Covid-19 aid package being passed soon.
Tokyo led the advance, climbing 2.1 per cent; Hong Kong and Jakarta ended higher as well.
Seoul's Kospi dipped nearly 1 per cent following news that the Hyundai-Apple car deal is off.
Oanda's senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley said: "Asian markets have started the week on a positive note, as disappointing US non-farm payrolls on Friday couldn't damp the stimulus-infused enthusiasm of Wall Street."
Towards the end of the week, however, he expects turnover in Asian markets to plunge as the Chinese New Year holidays draw close.
Banks were among the STI's top-performing stocks. DBS rose 3.4 per cent to $26.15, OCBC Bank added 1.4 per cent to $10.44, and UOB rose 1.3 per cent to $23.85.
At the top of the table was Singapore Airlines, with shares climbing 3.8 per cent to $4.33.
The most heavily traded by volume was Thai Beverage, which gained 2.4 per cent to 84 cents after over 52.2 million shares changed hands. Its shares rallied more than 3 per cent last Friday after the group confirmed plans to list its brewery unit in Singapore.
Outside the index, shares of mm2 Asia sank 30.8 per cent to 8.3 cents after the entertainment group said a Singapore private equity investor is interested in investing in one of its core businesses.
