STI rises 0.3% as upbeat mood over cooling US inflation continues
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The Straits Times Index advanced 10.17 points or 0.3 per cent to 3,248.63 to close 3.5 per cent ahead for the week.
PHOTO: BT FILE
Anita Gabriel
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE – Local shares rallied on Friday as investors rediscovered their risk appetite after more signs that easing inflation in the United States
Adding to the cheer was second-quarter gross domestic product data indicating that Singapore has avoided a technical recession, albeit narrowly.
The Straits Times Index (STI) advanced 10.17 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 3,248.63, closing 3.5 per cent ahead for the week. Gainers thumped losers 317 to 223 across the broader market, with 1.6 billion shares worth $1 billion traded.
Like the local market, key gauges across the Asia-Pacific took their cue from an upbeat Wall Street overnight to record solid increases.
Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and South Korea all finished higher, while Australian stocks rose 0.8 per cent, closing 3.7 per cent ahead for the week – the best five-day session since last November.
The Nikkei closed lower after posting solid gains earlier in the day.
KCM Trade chief market analyst Tim Waterer noted: “Inflation is on the way down and equities have been on the way up – that seems to encapsulate financial markets this week.”
He added that if “inflation cools at a similar rate across other countries as is happening in the US, maybe other central banks won’t have to raise rates as much as previously thought”.
In contrast to the general upbeat mood in the bourse, Hotel Properties Limited fell 2.6 per cent to $3.76 on news that co-founder and managing director Ong Beng Seng has been asked by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau to provide information on his interactions with Transport Minister S. Iswaran, who is on a leave of absence.
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) closed unchanged at $9.57. RHB Research issued a “neutral” call on the counter with a target price of $9.90.
It reiterated its weak outlook for SGX’s cash equities business following disappointing statistics for the 2023 financial year, which indicated that securities daily average value and derivatives daily average volume declined. THE BUSINESS TIMES
