Singapore stocks gain on Friday as Reits continue to trade higher; STI up 0.6%
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Singapore stocks gained on Friday as Reits trade higher.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
Tan Nai Lun
SINGAPORE - Local shares ended higher on Friday, as real estate investment trusts (Reits) continued to climb amid expectations that the Federal Reserve will halt its interest rate hikes soon.
The Straits Times Index (STI) advanced 0.6 per cent to close at 3,384.29 on Friday. Losers outnumbered gainers 306 to 281, after 2.2 billion securities worth $1.4 billion changed hands.
IG market analyst Yeap Jun Rong noted that banks fell on Thursday due to softer rate hike bets.
“However, (the index) is somewhat supported by renewed traction in the Reit sector, which viewed the impending end to the rate hiking cycle positively,” he said.
Most Reits closed higher on Friday. The top gainers on the index were Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust, which climbed 4.6 per cent to close at $1.36; Mapletree Logistics Trust, which rose 2.3 per cent to $1.76; and CapitaLand Ascendas Reit, which gained 2 per cent to $3.
Meanwhile, the top loser was Keppel Corp, which fell 5.1 per cent to $7.26. On Thursday, Keppel said its net profit for the second half ended December 2022 fell 40.6 per cent to $429.1 million, on the back of lower revenue from continuing operations.
The three local banks advanced on Friday. DBS Group Holdings gained 1.2 per cent to $35.50, UOB put on 1.8 per cent to $30.16 and OCBC Bank rose 0.9 per cent to $13.
Elsewhere in the region, key indexes were mixed. The Nikkei 225 was up 0.4 per cent, the Kospi composite index rose 0.5 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI inched up 0.04 per cent. However, the Hang Seng Index ended 1.4 per cent lower. THE BUSINESS TIMES
