Singapore shares end Friday in the black; STI climbs 0.6%

SINGAPORE stocks ended Friday (Oct 6) in positive territory, tracking regional indices.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) advanced 19.29 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 3,174.39.

On the local bourse, gainers outnumbered losers 329 to 268, as 1.3 billion securities worth S$802.8 million changed hands. 

Regional markets mostly rose on Friday. South Korea’s Kospi Composite Index ended up 0.2 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index expanded 1.6 per cent. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI ticked up 0.1 per cent. But Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3 per cent.

Across the Pacific, US stocks on Thursday finished lower ahead of the release of key employment data.

SPI Asset Management partner Stephen Innes believes there is “little need” for the US Federal Reserve to hike rates in November, due to the country’s Treasury yield curve “doing much of the heavy lifting”. 

“But given the still strong US economic data, we are unlikely to see the last high-speed tango between growth and rates,” he added. 

Back home, Singapore Airlines was the top gainer on the STI, as it climbed S$0.18 or 2.8 per cent to S$6.55. About 5.7 million of its shares traded on the bourse on Friday. 

At the bottom of the blue chip barometer was Mapletree Logistics Trust , which shed S$0.06 or 3.7 per cent to S$1.55. 

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Outside the STI, Malaysia-based glove manufacturer Top Glove fell S$0.005 or 2.2 per cent to S$0.22 after it returned from a midday trading halt. The company sank into the red with a full-year loss of RM926.6 million (S$268.7 million), a reversal from a RM225.6 million net profit in FY2022. 

Local banking stocks were all up on Friday. DBS rose S$0.52 or 1.6 per cent to S$33.79, while UOB advanced S$0.10 or 0.4 per cent to S$28.26. OCBC ended the day at S$12.85 after climbing S$0.10 or 0.8 per cent.