Cohen & Steers increases stake in PLife Reit

FOR the month of January 2019, the Straits Times Index (STI) generated a 4.0 per cent gain, with average gains of 5.4 per cent for the Hang Seng Index, Nikkei 225 Index and S&P/ASX 200 Index.

For the five trading sessions ended Jan 31, the STI ended unchanged while the Hang Seng Index, Nikkei 225 index and S&P/ASX 200 averaged a 1.3 per cent gain.

The three strongest sectors of the local market in January were Utilities, Information Technology and Energy.

Share buybacks

Share buyback momentum has paused over the past two weeks as a number of stocks prepare to report their 2018 full-year earnings.

There were 13 stocks conducting share buybacks over the 10 sessions ended Jan 31.

The consideration totalled S$4.5 million, with Keppel REIT Management, Bumitama Agri, Sunpower Group, Spackman Entertainment Group and Singapore Shipping Corporation…