Singapore shares finish mixed on the day, higher for the week thanks to Wall Street

WALL Street's consecutive all-time highs between Monday and Thursday provided the backdrop for a firm week for the Straits Times Index (STI) during which it gained 20 points or 0.7 per cent at 2,945.35, of which 4.87 points came on Friday. The index has now gained 2.2 per cent for the year so far.

Turnover on Friday was below average at 1.1 billion units worth S$949.4 million, the week's high coming on Wednesday when S$1.2 billion was transacted. Excluding warrants, Friday's advance-decline score was 167-184 so the session was more mixed than the index's reading might indicate.

Much of the index's support during the three-week rally that surprisingly ensued after "Brexit" or Britain's vote to exit the European Union, has come from Singtel and Thai Beverage, with help from the Jardine Group. Friday's gain for instance, came largely thanks to a S$0.07 jump in Singtel to S$4.30 that came with 21.7 million traded, a jump that added about seven points to the STI.

Elsewhere within the index, palm oil firm Wilmar International's Wednesday profit warning - though not wholly surprising since the company had earlier said that it expected a difficult quarter - nevertheless brought the sellers out in droves. Wilmar started the week at S$3.31 but ended at S$3.08, a loss of S$0.23 or 7 per cent that came in heavy trading throughout.