Singapore shares track regional gains on Thursday; STI up 0.4%

SINGAPORE stocks were up marginally on Thursday (Dec 22), tracking gains on Wall Street and other markets in the region.

On the local bourse, gainers outnumbered losers 309 to 199, after 867 million securities worth S$743 million changed hands. The Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.4 per cent or 13.34 points to close at 3,269.53.

Elsewhere in Asia, key indices were also up. Gains were led by the Hang Seng Index, which rose 2.7 per cent, followed by the Kospi, which gained 1.2 per cent. The KLCI gained 0.4 per cent, while the Nikkei 225 Index was up 0.5 per cent.

Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said: “Asian stocks picked up where the US market left off, with technology and property companies leading the charge, after a profusion of comments from regulators on supporting broader markets.” He also noted that policymakers in China were taking steps to ensure funding for major private property developers, while regulatory guidance was also helping platform companies drive employment.

“Offering support for the private sector is more critical from a market perspective, than for a near-term economic growth outlook,” he added.

The top gainer on the STI was Keppel Corporation : BN4 0%, which gained 1.5 per cent or S$0.11 to S$7.40. Meanwhile, the index’s top decliner was Hongkong Land : H78 0%. The counter fell 1.7 per cent or US$0.08 to US$4.66.

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Across the broader market, Sembcorp Marine : S51 0% was the top-traded counter by volume, with 64.9 million shares traded. It closed 0.7 per cent or S$0.001 higher, at S$0.14.

The trio of local banks also closed higher, led by OCBC : O39 0%, which rose 0.6 per cent to S$12.31. UOB : U11 0% was up 0.5 per cent to S$31.16, while DBS : D05 0% gained 0.2 per cent to S$34.27.