Late buying accounts for bulk of STI gain

A LATE push on Wednesday enabled the Straits Times Index to record a 20.44 or 0.6 per cent rise to 3,354.46 ahead of Thursday's European Central Bank (ECB) meeting at which a large quantitative easing (QE) package is expected to be announced. The index had risen about seven points at 5pm, which means 13 points were added during the post-closing matching period.

No individual stock benefited from this late buying, which appeared to be broad-based. It involved the Jardine stable, Singapore Airlines and the three banks.

Turnover was two billion units worth S$1.1 billion, the unit amount inflated by trading of 616 million Advance SCT that closed unchanged at S$0.001. The dollar value was marginally better than Monday's S$897 million and Tuesday's S$950 million.