Singapore shares end flat on Thursday

MARKETS in Asia traded mixed on Thursday after a positive session on Wall Street, and as China reported stronger-than-expected foreign direct investment figures but weaker industrial output growth figures.

In Singapore, the Straits Times Index (STI) closed a tad higher at 3,197.92, up 2.33 points or 0.07 per cent.

Trading on the Singapore bourse clocked in at 850.89 million securities worth S$1.01 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners 214 to 166.

Rex International was the bourse's most active counter with 58.3 million shares traded. Shares in the medical group finished 0.6 Singapore cent or 8 per cent higher at 8.1 Singapore cents.

Twenty-two of the STI's 30 constituents ended the day in the black. Among them, ThaiBev was the blue-chip index's most traded. The counter ended the session 15 Singapore cents or 1.9 per cent up at 82 Singapore cents with 38.3 million shares changing hands.

Going by value of trades done, the OCBC Bank's counter saw S$89.04 million traded - 8.8 per cent of the bourse's value of securities traded - across 8.07 million shares. The bank's shares added one Singapore cent or 0.1 per cent to close at S$11.04.

The other local banks also gained on the day. DBS Group Holdings closed up S$0.13 or 0.5 per cent higher at S$25.10, and United Overseas Bank added S$0.15 or 0.6 per cent to end at S$25.05.

Bourse operator Singapore Exchange, which had seen its stock slide by 6.9 per cent during the first three days of the week, recovered on Thursday to close five Singapore cents or 0.7 per cent up at S$7.31.