Singapore stocks close higher on Wednesday, STI up 0.6%

LOCAL shares ended in the black on Wednesday, tracking advances over at Wall Street as investors gained optimism from stimulus and vaccine talks.

All Wall Street Indices had finished Tuesday's session in the green. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.1 per cent, while the S&P 500 added 1.3 per cent. The Nasdaq gained 1.3 per cent to end at a record high.

On the local bourse, the benchmark Straits Times Index rose 0.6 per cent or 16.08 points to end Wednesday at 2,872.80. Across the broader market, advancers outnumbered decliners 268 to 163 after 2.29 billion securities worth S$1.25 billion changed hands.

As talks of vaccines continue to fuel investor optimism, some experts have flagged the need to be cautious as the Covid-19 pandemic is still upending certain countries.

Chief global market strategist at Axi Stephen Innes stressed that the odds of "a negative risk event" are growing, especially since there are chances of significantly extended lockdowns in several countries and this had not necessarily been priced in by markets.

Said Mr Innes: "There is a gap to be bridged between now and when experts expect herd immunity - in the middle of Q2 at the earliest.

"Recent experience has shown that mini lockdowns or circuit breakers do not achieve lasting control of spike cases. It is becoming increasingly likely that we will see extended and severe lockdowns for the majority of Q1."

Venture Corporation was the biggest advancer for the day, gaining 4.3 per cent or S$0.80 to S$19.52.

Genting Singapore added 4.1 per cent or 3.5 Singapore cents to finish the day at S$0.89. Maybank Kim Eng had yesterday upgraded its recommendation on the counter to a "buy" and raised its target price after analysts noted that Singapore's Phase 3 reopening will be positive for the company.

The trio of lenders were also among the top gainers. DBS added 0.4 per cent or S$0.10 to S$25.56; UOB gained 0.4 per cent or S$0.10 to S$22.99, while OCBC rose 1.2 per cent or S$0.12 to S$10.23.

On the other hand, Jardine Strategic Holdings and Jardine Matheson Holdings were the biggest losers, reversing their gains on Tuesday. The former lost 3.3 per cent or US$0.87 to US$25.57, while the latter shed one per cent or US$0.54 to US$56.06.

Across the region, markets mostly finished the day in positive territory. The KLCI advanced 0.4 per cent; the Jakarta Composite Index gained 1.8 per cent, and the Hang Seng Index rose 1 per cent. The SSE Composite Index, however, fell by a marginal 0.01 per cent.