Singapore shares start the week higher; STI up 0.9%
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The Straits Times Index rose 0.9 per cent or 28.95 points to close at 3,305.67 points.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Jude Chan
SINGAPORE - The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.9 per cent, or 28.95 points, to close at 3,305.67 points on Monday, as Asian markets tracked a surge on Wall Street.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, South Korea’s Kospi index, the Shanghai Composite Index and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI climbed between 0.6 per cent and 2.6 per cent.
In the wider Singapore market, gainers outnumbered losers 341 to 241, with 1.1 billion shares worth $1.3 billion changing hands.
According to IG market analyst Yeap Jun Rong, the reopening of China’s borders ahead of the Chinese New Year period was in focus across Asian markets.
“While that is a positive step towards a longer-term growth recovery, the near-term risk of coronavirus waves is put into question, and this could be a catalyst for jitters over the coming weeks,” said Mr Yeap.
The top performer on Singapore’s blue-chip index was Thai Beverage, which rose 2.9 per cent to close at 71 cents.
At the bottom of the table was Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, which continued its shaky start to the year. The counter fell 1.6 per cent to $1.21 on Monday, bringing it down a total of 11 per cent so far in the new year.
Yangzijiang and ThaiBev were also the most heavily traded counters among the constituent stocks, with 68.2 million and 60.4 million shares traded, respectively.
The performance of the three local lenders was mixed.
DBS Bank climbed 2.3 per cent to close at $35.25 and OCBC Bank finished 1.6 per cent higher at $12.70, while UOB fell 0.6 per cent to $30.67. THE BUSINESS TIMES
