SINGAPORE shares rose on Tuesday (Jun 21), along with other major Asian indices.

The Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.7 per cent or 21.08 points to 3,117.48. Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 334 to 167, after 1.27 billion securities worth S$961.7 million changed hands. 

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged 1.9 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.8 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.8 per cent. In South-east Asia, Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index closed up 1 per cent, while the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index advanced 1.2 per cent.

Oanda’s senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley said some confidence has returned to Asian markets even as Wall Street took a holiday on Monday, thanks to US index futures grinding higher in Asia. 

US futures continued gaining through European time as a lack of negative headlines “allowed the buy-the-dippers to dip their toes in the market”, he pointed out.

“Assuming the news ticker stays quiet, and with little data out this afternoon, European markets should continue recouping some recent losses, and as long as the US housing data holds steady, I can see Wall Street maintaining its recent gains as well.”

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Among STI constituents, energy and urban development company Sembcorp Industries was the biggest gainer, closing 4.7 per cent or S$0.13 higher at S$2.91. Trailing behind is Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, which ended 2.6 per cent or S$0.025 higher at S$0.99.

Finishing at the bottom of the STI performance table were Thai Beverage, which shed 0.8 per cent or S$0.005 to close at S$0.65, and bourse operator Singapore Exchange, which lost 0.3 per cent or S$0.03 to end at S$9.47.

The 3 local banks all closed higher. DBS rose 1.1 per cent or S$0.34 to close at S$30.25, OCBC finished at S$11.50, up 0.9 per cent or S$0.10, while UOB ended 0.04 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$26.85.

In the broader market, the most actively traded counter by volume was once again Sembcorp Marine, which reversed Monday’s losses, closing up 5.7 per cent or S$0.006 at S$0.111, after some 191.9 million shares worth S$21 million changed hands.