Singapore stocks: STI resumes Thursday afternoon up 0.39% on day

SINGAPORE shares held onto their gains as trading resumed on Thursday afternoon, after the release of advance estimates on gross domestic product growth which was in line with private sector economists' expectations.

The Straits Times Index rose 0.39 per cent or 12.59 points on the day to 3,235.42 as at 1.03pm. Advancers outnumbered decliners 242 to 130, after about 848.2 million securities worth S$323.8 million changed hands.

Among the most heavily traded by volume, Trendlines jumped 27.1 per cent, or 2.6 Singapore cents to S$0.122, with 46.3 million shares traded prior to its call for a trade halt. This came shortly after Singapore Exchange flagged "unusual price and volume movements" in the company's shares.

Meanwhile, GSS Energy gained 13.5 per cent or 1.4 Singapore cents to S$0.118 with 39.7 million shares traded. Mermaid Maritime gained 6.7 per cent or 0.9 Singapore cent to S$0.144 with 32.5 million shares traded.

Banking stocks were mixed by the afternoon trade. DBS rose 0.5 per cent, or 14 Singapore cents to S$26.02, UOB gained 0.4 per cent, or 11 Singapore cents to S$26.52, and OCBC slipped 0.2 per cent, or two Singapore cents to S$10.96.

Other active securities included CapitaLand which rose 0.8 per cent, or three Singapore cents to S$3.78. The property developer had on Tuesday announced that it raised its stake in LFIE with a China residential development project. AEM, was up 2.5 per cent or five Singapore cents to S$2.07.

Shares were also on the rise in other regional markets. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.35 per cent in morning trade. In China, the CSI300 index was 1.34 per cent higher in early trade. Japan markets were closed for a national holiday.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.13 per cent, while New Zealand markets were closed for a public holiday.