Banks buoy STI as broad market weakens

THE outperformance of the three banks continued on Wednesday, driving the Straits Times Index to fresh 21-month highs even as the broad market weakened.

Of the 26.7-point rise recorded by the STI at 3,237.81, about 20 points came from DBS's S$0.97 surge to S$20.83. In total, rises in the banks pushed the STI about 33 points as traders rushed to buy into the recovery theme that has taken grip after UOB and DBS released their first quarter results. OCBC's figures are due next Tuesday.

However, excluding warrants, there were 198 rises versus 255 falls throughout the market, suggesting that the gains were very narrowly focused - just as they were on Tuesday when the STI also jumped sharply. Turnover amounted to 1.5 billion units worth S$1.2 billion, down from Tuesday's S$1.5 billion.