Reits lead Singapore stocks higher on Wednesday; STI up 1.8%

SINGAPORE stocks jumped higher on Wednesday (Jan 25) with real estate investment trusts (Reits) leading the gainers, as investors returned after the Chinese New Year holidays.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 1.8 per cent or 59.06 points to close at 3,352.77.

“Coming back online after the holiday break, the STI is largely playing catch-up to previous bullish performances by global peers presented at the start of this week,” said IG market analyst Yeap Jun Rong. He noted that the index has been trading in a ranging pattern since mid-November.

Of the 30 STI constituents, 28 closed higher on Wednesday. Units of Keppel DC Reit and Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) were the top gainers for the day.

Keppel DC Reit units rose 3.6 per cent to close at S$2, while MLT units climbed 3 per cent to close at S$1.69. Mapletree Industrial Trust and CapitaLand Ascendas Reit were also among the top STI gainers, climbing 2.6 and 2.5 per cent respectively.

The local banks – DBS, UOB and OCBC – also performed strongly, rising between 1.5 and 2.8 per cent.

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Jardine Cycle & Carriage was the only STI counter to close in the red, slipping 0.04 per cent to close at S$28.95.

Across the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 265 to 143 after 975.2 million securities worth S$1.5 billion were traded.

Elsewhere, markets in the region ended the day mixed.

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The Nikkei 225 in Japan and South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.4 and 1.4 per cent respectively, but key indices in Australia, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur fell between 0.1 and 0.5 per cent.