Singapore stocks finish higher on expectations of another Wall Street record

A 30-POINTS rise in the Dow futures helped the Straits Times Index kick off the week with a 42.19-point or 1.3 per cent gain at 3,262.1 on Monday. Rises in the three banks, Singtel and Jardine stocks were the largest contributors, though volume at 1.3 billion units worth S$906 million was not spectacular. Excluding warrants there were 259 rises versus 139 falls, so gains were broad-based.

Also noticeable was that technology stocks also took off in response to a strong Friday session for Nasdaq. Gains here were led by Venture Corp which ended S$0.42 or 2.4 per cent higher at S$18.06 on volume of 1.2 million. Others from the sector that finished higher were Hi-P, Valuetronics and IFAST.