Singapore shares close up 0.23% on Monday

SINGAPORE stocks mustered tepid courage on Monday, in the wake of a mass sell-off the week before.

The benchmark Straits Times Index closed up by 7.74 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 3,384.98.

But across the bourse, losers beat gainers 266 to 208, or around five down for every four up.

Close to 2.47 billion shares changed hands, for a value of S$1.62 billion.

The index was lifted by all three local banks.

DBS last week bumped up its dividends in a new payout policy, after clocking record fourth-quarter earnings.

The counter finished up on Monday by S$0.60, or 2.25 per cent, to S$27.31.

But one beleaguered constituent was Singapore Exchange, which was down by S$0.58, or 7.35 per cent, to S$7.31, with 19.48 million shares changing hands.

Off the index, QT Vascular topped the actives list for stocks. About 129.39 million shares were traded for the day, with the price higher by 0.2 Singapore cent, or 11.11 per cent, to S$0.02.

Casino operator Genting Singapore saw a turnover of 51.79 million shares. The counter rose by S$0.01, or 0.83 per cent, to S$1.22.