Banks, HK Land and Keppel lift STI

WALL Street's Tuesday jump helped push up the major indices throughout the region on Wednesday, including the Straits Times Index (STI).

However, even though the STI ended 9.55 points firmer at 3,417.57, it was off its intraday high of 3,432 and its gain was not reflected in the broad market where there were 220 rises against 203 falls. This, combined with a weak opening for Europe, led some observers to believe Wall Street might encounter upward resistance on Wednesday.

Turnover here was 1.2 billion units worth S$1.3 billion , in line with daily totals this year. Of this, S$546 million or 42 per cent was done…