Singapore: Rises in Singtel and UOB push STI into the black

The Straits Timex Index kicked off the week with a 2.85-point gain at 3,515.85 on Monday, thanks mainly to strong gains in Singtel and UOB.

Earlier in the day the index traded in the black but slipped into the red in the late afternoon after a weak opening for Europe. Overall market turnover amounted to 1.8 billion units worth S$1.3 billion and excluding warrants, there were 258 rises versus 200 falls.

The session fell largely within expectations - a large rally in Hong Kong did not have much influence on sentiment here and although there were plenty of penny stocks in the actives list, the average unit traded was S$0.72, the highest in about 10 days, thus suggesting a continuing shift away from pennies that started just over a week ago.

Singtel rose S$0.07 to S$4.44 and UOB S$0.35 to S$25.05, both moves adding about 10 points to the index. DBS, which reported a 10 per cent increase in first quarter net profit to S$1.13 billion excluding a one-off item, saw its shares drop S$0.19 to S$20.89 whilst OCBC ended S$0.03 higher at S$10.82.